Stephen E. Jones — Eschatology
b4 — The Laws of the Second Coming
Second Coming as Fulfillment of the Autumn Feast Days
Jones’ central thesis is that the spring feasts were fulfilled at Christ’s first coming, while the autumn feasts prophesy the second coming:
“Even as Passover, the wave-sheaf offering, and Pentecost were fulfilled in the first coming of Christ, so also the Feast of Trumpets, the Day of Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles prophesy of events surrounding the second coming of Christ.”
— Ch. 1: Israel’s Prophetic Spring Feasts
“The Feast of Trumpets is the first of the autumn feast days, which prophesy of the second coming of Christ.”
— Ch. 2: The Feast of Trumpets
Jones connects the unknown day and hour (Matt. 25:13) to the Feast of Trumpets: “This phrase about not knowing the day nor the hour is a peculiar Hebrew saying, which they specifically applied to the Feast of Trumpets, whose beginning was unknown until the new moon was sighted.” — Ch. 2; cf. Matt. 25:13
Interpretation: The second coming follows a threefold autumn pattern: Trumpets (resurrection of the dead) → Day of Atonement (church repentance) → Feast of Tabernacles (glorification/catching away of overcomers).
Two Resurrections
Jones derives two distinct resurrections from Num. 10:1-10 and Rev. 20:
“The law suggests that there will be more than one resurrection. For this reason, God told Moses to make TWO trumpets of silver. When the priest blew with just one trumpet, only the leaders, the heads of the people, were to gather before God. When the priest blew BOTH trumpets, the entire congregation was to gather before God.”
— Ch. 2; cf. Num. 10:1-10
“John tells us in Revelation 20 that there will be two resurrections, not just one. The first resurrection, John says, will include only believers.”
— Ch. 2; cf. Rev. 20:4-6
Jones quotes Rev. 20:4-6: “‘And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus… and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.’ ‘The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.‘” — Ch. 2
“The first resurrection, therefore, includes only the heads of the people — that is, those who are called to rule in the Kingdom during the Age of Tabernacles.”
— Ch. 2
“Revelation 20 does NOT tell us that ALL BELIEVERS are to be raised in the first resurrection. He merely tells us that ONLY BELIEVERS will be raised in the first resurrection.”
— Ch. 2; cf. Rev. 20
On the second (general) resurrection, Jones quotes John 5:28-29: “‘An hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.‘” — Ch. 2
Jones notes that Paul normally speaks of the first resurrection: “When the apostle Paul speaks of the resurrection of the dead, he usually speaks of the first resurrection. Consequently, in 1 Thessalonians 4:16, the dead are raised ‘at the last trumpet’ (singular). Paul identifies those raised as ‘the dead in Christ,’ NOT ALL the dead, small and great.” — Ch. 2; cf. 1 Thess. 4:16
Interpretation: The two silver trumpets of Num. 10 typify the two resurrections of Rev. 20: the first resurrection (at the Feast of Trumpets) concerns the overcomers/rulers; the second (general) resurrection at the end of the thousand years concerns all remaining dead.
Millennium (Age of Tabernacles)
Jones consistently calls the millennium the “Age of Tabernacles”:
“These are the overcomers who will reign with Christ in the Tabernacles Age for a thousand years.”
— Ch. 2; cf. Luke 12:43-44
“We can only conclude, then, that in the general resurrection at the end of the thousand-year Tabernacles Age the angel will blow BOTH trumpets. This will summon the entire congregation (Church) from the grave — except for the rulers, of course, who had been summoned a thousand years earlier. The Church as a whole, then, will be raised from the dead at the end of the thousand years along with all the unbelievers. Here the unbelievers will be judged by the ‘lake of fire,’ while the congregation of non-ruling believers will receive life (immortality).”
— Ch. 2
On the Feast of Tabernacles as the appointed time for glorification: “The Feast of Tabernacles is the appointed time for the change to take place in our bodies, where the overcomers will receive their tabernacle which is from heaven and not made with human hands.” — Ch. 7: The Feast of Tabernacles; cf. 2 Cor. 5:1
Jones links the conquest of Jericho (firstfruits of Canaan) to the overcomers as firstfruits of creation: “This conquest is associated particularly with the Feast of Tabernacles, showing that the coming of Christ and the establishment of divine government will be the fulfillment of this feast. This will begin, of course, with the overcomers… These are the firstfruits of the creation, for whose manifestation all creation groans.” — Ch. 7; cf. Rom. 8:19
Last Judgment
On the judgment following the second resurrection:
“Notice especially that in this general resurrection the Book of Life is mentioned. The wording in verse 15 implies that many WERE found written in the Book of Life. Nowhere does it tell us that no one in the general resurrection could be found in that Book.”
— Ch. 2; cf. Rev. 20:15
Jones quotes Rev. 20:14-15: “‘And death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.’ ‘And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.‘” — Ch. 2
Jones distinguishes the fire for believers from that for unbelievers: “They will be ‘saved yet so as by fire,’ while the unbelievers will be thrown into the lake of fire. The fire is the same only in that it represents judgment of the divine law.” — Ch. 2; cf. 1 Cor. 3:10-15
Jones also notes that believers will stand before the judgment seat of Christ: “Many Christians will have to stand before the judgment seat of Christ, not only to determine their rewards, but also to be held accountable for unrepentant lawless behavior.” — Ch. 2; cf. 1 Cor. 3:10-15
Apokatastasis / Universal Reconciliation
Jones’ eschatology is structurally universalist through the Jubilee motif:
“The Jubilee is all about forgiveness. The law itself speaks of the cancellation and forgiveness of DEBTS on this day, but in the Bible, all sin is reckoned as a debt… The Jubilee is not only about forgiveness of monetary debts, but also of sins.”
— Ch. 3: The Day of Atonement and Jubilee
“The end of the Bible portrays the end of history in this way in Revelation 5:13 and 14: ‘And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.’ This is the Jubilee, and these are the Jubilee people. They are forgivers.”
— Ch. 3; cf. Rev. 5:13-14
Jones denies eternal dualism: “Good and evil are not of equal power. God and Satan are not two equal gods in the universe. There is no balance of power in the heavens, no eternal coexistence of sin and righteousness.” — Ch. 3
On the overcomers as agents of universal liberation: “The overcomers are men and women that God intends to put into positions of rulership in His Kingdom… the overcomers have a heart to declare the Jubilee in the earth, which will set the nations free in the coming Age of Tabernacles.” — Ch. 3
Jones quotes 2 Pet. 3:8-9 on God’s patience: “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.” — Ch. 2; cf. 2 Pet. 3:8-9
“The power of forgiveness will always transcend the power of the grudge. The power of love will always transcend the power of sin.”
— Ch. 3
Interpretation: Jones’ universalism is gradual-eschatological: overcomers are glorified first and then proclaim the Jubilee until all nations are converted at the manifestation of the sons of God — the universal ending (Rev. 5:13-14) is the definitive Jubilee for all creatures.
Rapture — Rejection of Pre-Tribulation Doctrine
Jones explicitly rejects the pre-tribulation rapture:
“The term ‘rapture’ is not a biblical term. It is a theological term that many Bible teachers use to refer to harpazo, the ‘catching away’ mentioned in 1 Thessalonians 4:17. The problem is that the word has received its definition from men of the last two centuries who knew little or nothing about the Feast of Trumpets or of Tabernacles. Because of this, much of the Church has been taught that when Christ comes, the dead will be raised and immediately ‘raptured’ to heaven, with the living saints close on their heels. But this is not what the feast days teach us.”
— Ch. 13: The Real Rapture
Jones places the catching away at the Feast of Tabernacles, more than two weeks after Trumpets: “The patterns strongly suggest that Christ will come in the middle of the Feast of Tabernacles, and that, like Peter, the overcomers will be caught away to meet Him at that time. But this would be more than two weeks after the Feast of Trumpets.” — Ch. 13
Jones reinterprets 1 Thess. 4:16-17 through the Sinai pattern of Ex. 19: “In Exodus 19:18, ‘the Lord descended.’ In 1 Thessalonians 4:16 we read that ‘the Lord Himself will descend from heaven.’ In Exodus 19:19, ‘the sound of the trumpet grew louder and louder.’ In 1 Thessalonians 4:16 we read of ‘the voice of the archangel and the trumpet of God.’ In Exodus 19:20, ‘Moses went up’ the mount which was covered by a cloud. In 1 Thessalonians 4:17 the saints are ‘caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.‘” — Ch. 13; cf. Ex. 19:18-20; 1 Thess. 4:16-17
On the location of the meeting: “We conclude, then, that meeting the Lord in the air means that both the dead and the living saints together will meet Him here on earth, but not underground and not in outer space where there is no air.” — Ch. 13
Interpretation: Jones’ rapture theology is feast-day-bound, not pre-tribulational: the meeting with Christ occurs on earth (in the air = in the earth’s atmosphere), not in outer space.
Sign of Jonah as Eschatological Type
Jones links Jonah’s experience to the two works of Christ and universal conversion of the nations:
“The second part of the sign of Jonah is prophetic of that which occurs AFTER the resurrection of the dead at the fulfillment of the Feast of Trumpets. Jonah’s emergence from the belly of the fish (the heart of the earth) represents the resurrection of the dead at the last trumpet. He came forth bleached white (transfigured). He was then sent to preach the Gospel to Nineveh, representing all nations, including God’s ‘enemies.’ When the world sees the manifestation of the sons of God, they will be converted in the age to come.”
— Ch. 12: The Sign of Jonah
On the atomic nature of glorification at the last trumpet: “Paul says we will all be ‘changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet’ (1 Cor. 15:51, 52). The Greek word translated ‘moment’ is atomos, which literally means ATOMS. Paul used the word to indicate an atomic change in the material body itself that would allow the glory of God to be manifested even as Jesus’ body after His resurrection.” — Ch. 12; cf. 1 Cor. 15:51-52
On the second work of Christ as completion of the Great Commission: “This phase of Jonah’s ministry represents the second work of Christ, wherein the Great Commission is completed and all nations come under the rule of Jesus Christ. This second work must be done under the anointing of the Feast of Tabernacles, at which time the overcomers will be transfigured, putting on their ‘white garments,’ representing the righteousness of saints.” — Ch. 12
Jones critiques mainstream rapture eschatology: “Many have taught that Christ’s second coming will snatch away the Christians, remove the Holy Spirit, and bring forth an ‘antichrist’… These views are held by those who have probably never read or understood the laws of the second coming of Christ.” — Ch. 12
Jones quotes Isa. 2:2-4 as the ultimate eschatological vision: “‘Now it will come about that in the last days, the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains… and all the nations will stream to it… For the law will go forth from Zion… He will judge between the nations… and they will hammer their swords into plowshares… Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they learn war.‘” — Ch. 12; cf. Isa. 2:2-4
New Creation / New Earth
Jones emphasizes an earth-centered (not heavenly) eschatological inheritance:
“We will not be in outer space at a place called ‘heaven.’ Heavenly conditions will come to earth and focus particularly upon the overcomers who fulfill the Feast of Tabernacles. These will receive spiritual bodies like Jesus had after His resurrection. In this way Matthew 5:7 will be fulfilled, saying in the NASB, ‘Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.’ Revelation 5:10 says that ‘we shall reign on the earth.‘”
— Ch. 13; cf. Matt. 5:5; Rev. 5:10; 2 Pet. 3:13
Jones quotes 2 Pet. 3:13 on the new creation: “‘But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.‘” — Ch. 2; cf. 2 Pet. 3:13
On the temple illumination ceremony at Tabernacles as type of the New Jerusalem: “This ceremony was intended to portray the glory of God in Jerusalem… Even so, it did prophesy of the New Jerusalem and its New Temple made of living stones.” — Ch. 7