Stephen Jones — Doctrine of God
b3 — Secrets of Time
Sovereignty of God — central theme of the book
Passage 1 — Purpose of the book (Preface):
“The overall purpose of this book is to portray the Sovereignty of God in history. If that goal is reached, you should conclude the reading of this book by saying, ‘What a great God we have!‘”
Source: Jones, Secrets of Time, Preface.
Interpretation: Jones explicitly frames the sovereignty of God over history as the book’s central theological theme. The desired reader response (“What a great God we have!”) signals a doxological intention.
Passage 2 — God determines history (Preface):
“Everything is orderly. Nothing happens by accident. Men do not determine history; God does. Nations rise and fall according to His decrees, as Nebuchadnezzar discovered the hard way in the 4th chapter of Daniel.”
Source: Jones, Secrets of Time, Preface (reference to Dan. 4).
Interpretation: Jones directly denies chance and human determination of history. God’s decrees are the actual cause behind the fate of nations — grounded biblically in the example of Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 4).
Passage 3 — No monarch stands above God’s law (Preface):
“No monarch stands above the Law of God, nor can he withstand the irreversible judgment of God when the day of his visitation has arrived.”
Source: Jones, Secrets of Time, Preface.
Interpretation: God’s sovereignty includes the irresistibility of His judgments. No human or political power can escape God’s decrees when the appointed time arrives.
Passage 4 — Rom. 11:33 as expression of God’s depth (Preface):
“O the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out!”
Source: Jones, Secrets of Time, Preface — Paul cited (Rom. 11:33).
Interpretation: Jones uses Rom. 11:33 as a frame for his argument: God’s sovereignty is simultaneously knowable (through Scripture and history) and transcendent — His ways are “past finding out.”
God’s will versus God’s plan — the time element in divine sovereignty
Passage 5 — Distinction between will and plan (Ch. 4):
“It was the Will of God that it happen; but it was not in His Plan. God’s Will must always be fulfilled, but God’s Plan almost always delays the fulfillment of His Will for a time. The only essential difference between God’s Will and God’s Plan is Time. God’s Plan is a delayed fulfillment of His Will.”
Source: Jones, Secrets of Time, ch. 4 (“Cursed Time for the Earth and Canaan”).
Interpretation: Jones introduces a theological distinction that supports his entire prophetic framework: God’s will is unchangeable and certain; the timing of fulfillment belongs to God’s sovereign plan. This implicitly rejects open theism — the outcome is fixed, only the timing differs.
Passage 6 — God’s wisdom in His own court (Ch. 4):
“God is much too wise to lose a case in His own court!”
Source: Jones, Secrets of Time, ch. 4.
Interpretation: God’s juridical infallibility — He cannot lose a case under His own law. The courtroom analogy runs throughout the entire book.
Theodicy — sin as debt, judgment as restitution
Passage 7 — God reckons all sin as debt (Ch. 4):
“If we ever hope to understand the manner in which God deals with men and nations, we must see that God reckons all sin in terms of debt.”
Source: Jones, Secrets of Time, ch. 4.
Interpretation: Central to Jones’ theodicy: God’s judgment is not arbitrary but juridically restitutionary. This pattern runs consistently through b1, b2, and b3.
Passage 8 — Restitution as principle of God’s justice (Ch. 4):
“God’s law in Exodus 22 makes it clear that true justice is not done until full restitution has been paid to all the victims of injustice… The restitution must always fit the crime, and a judge has no right to make the restitution less or more than the law specifies.”
Source: Jones, Secrets of Time, ch. 4 (Ex. 22 cited).
Interpretation: God’s righteousness is bound by His own law. God does not act arbitrarily but within a legal system He Himself established and to which He holds Himself accountable.
Passage 9 — God’s patience: grace periods before judgment (Ch. 4):
“Because God is a God of mercy and grace. He never carries out a sentence of death immediately. He always gives men time to repent, time to get off Cursed Time and enter the realm of Blessed Time.”
Source: Jones, Secrets of Time, ch. 4.
Interpretation: God’s sovereignty includes His patience. Judgment is delayed to allow for repentance — God’s attributes (grace, justice) function in harmony.
Passage 10 — God’s ultimate purpose: reconciliation (Ch. 4):
“God’s ultimate purpose is not to curse or destroy, but to reconcile the world unto Himself.”
Source: Jones, Secrets of Time, ch. 4.
Interpretation: Jones connects sovereignty directly to God’s love as the final destination. [TENSION with traditional reformed positions: the emphasis on universal reconciliation as the endpoint implies apokatastasis — consistent with b1 and b2.]
God’s decrees over nations — judicial judgment as governance
Passage 11 — Mene, Tekel, Upharsin as God’s audit of Babylon (Ch. 10):
“MENE: God hath numbered [audited] thy kingdom and finished it. TEKEL: Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting [declared bankrupt]. PERES: Thy kingdom is divided, and given [auctioned off, sold] to the Medes and Persians.”
Source: Jones, Secrets of Time, ch. 10 — Dan. 5:26-28 cited and explained.
Interpretation: Jones interprets Dan. 5:26-28 as a judicial audit procedure in which God as supreme judge weighs nations and transfers their debt obligations. God’s judgments are precise and juridical in nature.
Passage 12 — God’s unchanging demand on nations across the ages (Ch. 10):
“It is important to keep in mind that the Debt Note remained in existence, because God has always required the Fruits of the Kingdom and will continue to require it until a people stands up who can pay God what is due to Him.”
Source: Jones, Secrets of Time, ch. 10 (Matt. 21:43 cited).
Interpretation: God’s decree is unchanging: His demand for nations (bearing fruit) remains in force through all changes of empire. This is Jones’ articulation of God’s immutability (immutabilitas Dei).
Immutability of God’s law — God as self-bound judge
Passage 13 — God is bound by His own law (Ch. 4):
“The law cannot acquit the guilty, nor does the judge have the authority to put away the law by refusing to pass sentence. But the judge does have the option — as does anyone — of paying the penalty himself.”
Source: Jones, Secrets of Time, ch. 4.
Interpretation: God does not act outside His own law. Even the Judge is bound by the law. The possibility that God pays the penalty Himself (redemption) is left open — a direct pointer to the christological ground of the doctrine of God.
Providence — God’s action through time cycles
Passage 14 — Cursed time cycles as providential instrument (Ch. 4):
“The Flood came upon the earth in the year 1656, when Noah was 600 years old. The year 1656 came at the end of four periods of Cursed Time (414 x 4 = 1656 years)… The sentence of the law was read in Genesis 3:17-19, but that sentence was not actually carried out for another 1656 years.”
Source: Jones, Secrets of Time, ch. 4 (Gen. 3:17-19 cited).
Interpretation: God’s providence is not random but operates through fixed time patterns (414-year cycles). Even the Flood was a precisely timed judgment, not an impulsive reaction — God’s foreknowledge and sovereign timing work together.