The Woman learning in Silence: OR, THE MYSTERY OF THE Woman's Subjection TO HER HUSBAND.  
As also, The Daughter prophesying, wherein the Lord hath, and is fulfilling that he spoke by the Prophet Joel, I will pour out my Spirit upon all Flesh, etc.  
Given forth by George Fox.  Quench not the Spirit. Despise not Prophesying. 
LONDON, Printed for Thomas Simonds, at the sign of the Bull and Mouth near Aldersgate. 1656.   

THE WOMAN LEARNING IN SILENCE, etc.  
LEt your women learn in silence, with all subjection; here is a silent learning, a learning in silence: I suffer not a woman to Teach, nor to usurp Authority over the man, but to be silent, there she is to learn, in the silence, and not to usurp Authority over the man, but ask her Husband at home. 
Gal. 5.18.  That which usurps Authority, the Law takes hold on, but if you be led of the spirit, than you are not under the Law: So I permit not a Woman to speak in the Church, as saith the Law: So let the Women learn in silence, with all subjection: But I suffer not a Woman to usurp Authority over the man, but be in all silence; for Adam was form, than Eve and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was in the Transgression, Read 1 Tim. 2. Nevertheless she shall be saved in childbearing, if she continue in faith and charity, and holiness, with sobriety. Let your women keep silence in the Church, for it is not permitted for them to speak, but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the Law, the women which are to be under obedience, and to be silent, and not to speak in the Church, as also saith the Law, which doth not permit; but Christ in the Male, and in the Female is one, which makes free from the Law: I will pour out my spirit upon Sons and Daughters, and they shall prophesy: And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their Husbands at home, for it is a shame for a woman to speak in the Church, 
i Cor. 1.21.  that which the Law forbids and commands silence; it is a shame to suffer them to speak in the Church. What? came the Word of God out from you, or came it unto you only? Paul, according to the measure given to him, 
2 Pet. 3.  in all his Epistles, speaking in them of things which some are hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned, and unstable, wrist, as they do also the other Scriptures, to their own destruction: You therefore, beloved, seeing you know these things, beware lest you also be led away with the error of the wicked, and fall from your own steadfastness; but grow in grace, and the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the end of the Law for righteousness sake. Peter, which was unlearned in the Letter, yet learned of Christ, says, Such as were unlearned, who wrist the Scriptures and the Epistles, being unlearned. The Scribes, Pharisees, great Rabbis, and Doctors knew not the Scriptures, being not learned of Christ, him who was the life of the prophets, and the end of the Law, whom Peter was learned in, knew and preached, whom they knew not: So here the unlearned, who was in the life, confounded all the learned out of the life, who learned of him by whom the world was made, who comprehended all the world's learning that was in the world; so the unlearned wrist, they are to learn in silence, and not to speak, as saith the law, but learn of their husband at home, Christ, who makes free from the Law; nevertheless she shall be saved by childbearing, Christ in the Male, and Christ in the Female. Husband's love your Wives, and be not bitter against them. Wives submit yourselves first to your Husbands as unto the Lord: The Husband is the head of the Wife, even as Christ is the head of the church, and is the Saviour of the body: Therefore as the church is subject to Christ, 
Eph. 5.  so let the Wives be subject to their own Husbands in every thing. Husband's love your Wives, even as Christ loved the church, and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it, by the washing of water by the Word, that he might present it a glorious church, without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing, that it should be holy without blemish: So ought men to love their Wives as their own bodies; he that loveth his Wife, loveth himself, for no man ever hated his own flesh, but nourished it, and cherished it, even as the Lord the church, for we are Members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones; for this cause shall a man leave his Father and Mother, and be joined to his Wife, and they twain shall be one flesh: This is a great mystery, I speak concerning Christ and the church; He that hath an ear, let him hear this great mystery; now the unlearned men wrist it, and the unstablished, who know not this great mystery, you that are ignorant of the Lords work, and the voice of his prophets, who are wondering at the prophesying of the daughters, who make your selves ignorant of the Scriptures, and are wondering at the Lords Prophets, his Daughters, which joel the Lord's Prophet, which spoke from the Lord, and saith the Lord to him, I am the Lord your God, and none else, and my people shall never be ashamed: It shall come to pass after those days, I will pour forth my spirit upon all flesh, and your Sons and your Daughters shall prophesy, and your old men shall dream dreams, and young men shall see visions; and also upon the Servants and upon the Handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit, saith the Lord: Here all may see the Spirit of the Lord not limited, but upon the handmaids & the servants is the Lords Spirit poured, & to be poured, & many thousands of servants & handmaids witness the Spirit of the Lord poured upon them, the word of the Lord fulfilled, & upon the sons & daughters will the Lord pour out his spirit, & they shall prophesy, and many daughters & sons, and young men, and old men witness the spirit of the Lord upon them poured out, that visions are seen, old men dream dreams, & young men see visions, & their sons & their daughters do prophecy, joel 2.28. & in Act. 2. the Apostles there do gather together, waiting upon the Lord, upon whom the holy Ghost fell among them that were to wait for the Spirit. This Prophecy of joel they saw the fulfilling of, which to the world they were as men drunk; and so here the Apostles witnessed the fulfilling of the Prophets, who are witnesses of Christ, whom the Apostles did give testimony of, & did speak of the daughters prophesying: & Philip had four daughters that did prophesy, which the Apostle did not forbid, and saith the Apostle, despise not prophesying: here the prophet joel was not against the daughters prophesying, nor the Apostles were not against it, but said, despise not prophesying; and saith the Lord, 1 Chron. 16.22. Touch not mine anointed, & do my prophets no harm: so you that persecute the daughters on whom the spirit of the Lord is poured, & believe them not, you are them that despise the prophets, & despise prophesying, and so have broken the Apostles command, who saith, despise not prophesying, & shows that you are out of the Prophet's doctrine, & the Apostles doctrine, against the Promise of God stand with all your might, who saith, he would pour forth his spirit upon all flesh, & his daughters should prophesy; & how can you be established, & believe not the prophets? for believing the Prophets they came to be established, as you may read, 2 Chr. 20. so how ignorant of the prophets & promises of God doth the called teachers of the world make themselves manifest, & how in darkness they appear to the children of light, 1 Thes. 5.20. so you that despise prophesy, & cast the daughters and sons, servants and handmaids into prison, who witness the spirit of the Lord God poured forth upon them, you show that you be out of the Apostles doctrine, & to be strangers to the spirit the Scriptures were given forth from, & are ignorant of the Church the Apostle speaks of, who saith let the prophets speak two or three, & let the other judge, & if any thing be revealed to one that sits by, let the first hold his peace, for you may all prophesyone by one, that all may learn, & all maybe comforted, & the spirit of the prophets is subject to the prophets, for God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all the Churches of the saints. This order was in the Church of the Saints, the prophets to speak two or three, & the other to judge, and if any thing be revealed to another that sits by, the first held his peace: they might prophecy all one by one, that all may learn & be comforted, & the spirit of the prophets was subject to the prophets, & this was order, & not confusion in all the Churches of the Saints, which is disorder & confusion in the Churches of the world, who cannot endure a daughter to prophesy, for a daughter might prophesy, and a daughter is a prophet, where the spirit of the Lord is poured forth upon, & a son; for you never read that any of the prophets or apostles were against the daughters which had the spirit of the Lord poured forth upon them, a daughter might prophesy in the Church: for let your prophets speak two or three, and I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh, and your daughters shall prophesy, for you that despise prophesying despise God's command, and are out of Moses light and life, who said, Would all the Lords people were prophets, Numb. 11.26, 27, 28. and daughters are the Lords people; and when they were prophesying in the camp, there ran a young man and told Moses, and joshua the son of Nun, the servant of Moses, one of his young men answered and said, My lord forbidden them: and Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God all the Lords people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his spirit upon them. Now mark Moses answer, how backward Moses was from limiting the spirit, that he would have the Lords spirit put upon them all, and said, would that all the Lords people were Prophets: Now hear you magistrates, priests and people, which do put into prison sons and daughters for prophesying, and the lords people, you show a contrary spirit, you show a spirit that hath erred from Moses spirit, who cannot endure that the spirit of the Lord should be poured upon them that they should prophesy, but would limit it to learned men, old books, and authors. And Hanna the prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, which was about fourscore and four years of age, came into the Temple, who served God with fasting and prayer night and day, she spoke of Christ to all them that looked for Redemption in Jerusalem.  
Here was a large testimony born of Jesus by Hanna the Prophetess; 
Luke 2.36, 37, 38  here you may see a daughter which did give testimony of Jesus, which would be, and is a wonder in this our age, to see a woman of fourscore years of age to speak of Jesus to all them that look for redemption in Jerusalem, as she did; put her in prison, would the wicked ones say, into prison with her would the Priests say: And Paul the Minister of God in Phil. the 4th. there he entreats his true yoke-fellow to help those women which laboured with him in the Gospel, as you may there read. The Women were joined with the other fellow-Labourers, whose names are written in the book of life; and in Rom. 16. there you may see Priscilla and Aquila, Paul's helpers in Christ Jesus, who for his life laid down their necks; here the wife Priscilla was an instructor and was one of them that laid down their necks, and a helper in Christ Jesus; 
Acts 18.24, 25, 26.  she and Aquila took Apollo and expounded to him the way of God more perfectly; one who taught in the Synagogue was instructed by her and him in the way of God more perfectly; at these you Synagogue-Teachers scoffs to be instructed by a woman, and you that forbidden a woman for speaking that hath the Spirit of the Lord, you forbidden Scripture; 
1 Cor. 16.19  for Aquila and Priscilla had a Church in their house, and the Church in Priscilla and Aquila's house was to be greeted, who were instructers; and in the aforesaid Chap. Act. 18. he that was speaking holdly in the Synagogue witnessing Christ the second Priest, the end of the first Priesthood that took Tithes, the Law, the Offering, & the Temple, by him, Priscilla and Aquila expounded to him the way of God more perfectly, and the Apostle Paul a Minister of the Lord who witnesseed the daughters prophesying, saith, I commend unto you Phebe our Sister, which is a servant of the Church which is at Cenchrea, 
Rom 16.1, 2.  that you receive her in the Lord as becometh Saints, that you assist her in what business she hath need of, for she hath been a succourer of many, and of myself also: This was Phebe the Sister, the Servant of the Church, which was to be received in the Lord, and assist her in whatsoever business she hath need. And saith the Apostle, as touching Priscilla and Aquila his fellow labourers in Christ Jesus, who laid down their necks for his life, unto whom he gave thanks, and not only he did give thanks, but also all the Churches of the Gentiles. Here you may see the account Aquila and Priscilla were in, who laid down their necks for the Apostle, how thankworthy they were; and Mary in Vers. 6. was to be greeted, who bestowed much labour on the Apostle. You that cannot own the prophesying of the daughters, the women-labourers in the Gospel, you are such as the Apostle speaks of in the same Chapter, 
Rom. 16. chap. throughout.  which serve not the Lord Jesus Christ, but your own bellies, and by the good words and fair speeches, deceive the hearts of the simple, for the obedience of these was gone abroad, which the Apostle speaks of, and your disobedience is gone abroad to the Apostles Doctrine, who cannot endure the prophesying of the sons and daughters where the Spirit of the Lord is poured upon them; 
Joel. 30.  And Mary Magdalene saw Jesus after his Resurrection, which on the first day of the week came to the sepulchre, and when she saw Jesus, she knew not that it was him, and said unto him, Master; Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to my Father, but go unto my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto your Father and my Father, unto your God and my God. Mary Magdelene came and told the Disciples that she had seen the Lord, and he had spoken these things unto her; the same day at evening being the first day of the week, the Disciples were assembled, Jesus came and stood in the midst, & said, Peace be amongst you. Now here all may see that it was Mary Magdalone that was sent to declare his Resurrection, and she was to tell the brethren (the Disciples) whither Christ was to go, to his father and our father, his God & our God, where her testimony was received. Now you that make a scoff & a wonder at a Woman's declaring, you may see that it was Mary that first declared Christ after he was risen, so be ashamed and confounded for ever, & let all your mouths be stopped for ever, that despise the spirit of prophecy in the daughters, and do cast them into prison, and to hinder the women-labourers in the Gospel, and saith the Apostle, Christ in the male and in the female, and if Christ be in the female as well as in the Male, is not he the same? and may not the Spirit of Christ speak in the female as well as in the male? is he there to be limited? who is it that dare limit the holy One of Israel? for the light is the same in the male, & in the female which cometh from Christ, him by whom the world was made, and so Christ is one in all, and not divided, and who is it that dares stop Christ's mouth? that now is come to reign in his sons & daughters, Christ in the male, and Christ in the female? and you that will not have him to reign in the Female as well as in the Male, you are against Scripture, and will not have him to reign over you; for in that Male where Christ doth reign, 
2 Cor. 13.  rule and speak, he will own Christ in the Female, there to reign, to rule and speak, and come to see the Apostles Doctrine, a Minister of Christ and of God, and not made by the will of man, who said, that Christ was in the Male and in the Female, Christ all in all, and Christ in you, except you be Reprobates: Now you that be Reprobates, in whom Christ doth not reign nor rule, cannot endure that Christ should be in the Female nor in the Male, but him you will hale into prison, & yet profess the Words, as the Pharisees did, to whom Christ said, I was sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not; and I was naked and hungry, and ye clothed me not, nor fed me: Now them which had Scripture, & would not have Christ to reign, said, When saw we thee in prison, or naked, and hungry, and we clothed thee not, or visited thee not? In as much as you did it not to the least of these, you did it not unto me, said Christ. So if they who visited him not in prison, who had the Scriptures to talk on, of Christ that was to come, as you have of one which is come, and would not have him reign, as you will not now; such were to go into punishment prepared for the devil and his angels: if such punishment came upon them that visited him not when he was cast into prison, what will come upon you that do him cast into prison? but Chest is come to reign, him by whom the world was made, before the world was made, who now reigns in his sons and daughters, and in the male and in the female, that the glory is seen that the Son had with the Father before the world began, which glory those males and females that receive Christ do see, and the spirits of the Prophets is subject to the Prophets, whether it be son or daughter that prophesies, for the spirit of the prophets is subject to the prophets, and the prophets may speak one by one in the true Church, and the daughter is a prophet as well as theson. 
1 Cor. 14.31, 32, 33.  Now every one having a light from Christ Jesus, the son of God him by whom the world was made, being turned to the light, turned to Christ, him by whom the world was made, see him, the prophet, whom God hath raised up, which Moses spoke of, who is the end of the prophets, and with the Light see Christ, the gift of God, the promise of the Father, and receive him; you will see with the Light such as act contrary to the Light, such as act contrary to the Light which they are lighted withal, what due and portion is to them who contrary to the Light do act which comes from Jesus Christ; and with the Light you will see the promise to them of life that walk in the Light that comes from Jesus, and every one receiving the Light which comes from Christ, shall receive the spirit of prophecy, whether they be male or female, and the spirit of prophecy is the Testimony of Jesus; if male and female have received the Testimony of Jesus, they have received the spirit of prophecy  
FJNJS.