Stephen E. Jones — Hamartology
b7 — Christian Zionism: How Deceived Can You Get?
The Edom-Judah Merger as Hamartological Problem
Jones identifies in the preface and chapter 1 the Edom-Judah merger (126 B.C.) as the root of a collective sin-inheritance. Forced conversion creates no genuine change of heart:
“Forcible conversion only incarcerates people in a religion.”
(Jones, Christian Zionism, chap. 1)
Jones appeals to Rom. 2:28-29 and Phil. 3:3: true circumcision is of the heart, not of the flesh. The merger produced a double prophetic stream: “Since that merger, the Jews have had two streams of prophecy to fulfill.” The Edomite stream is the stream of rebellion and enmity.
(Jones, Christian Zionism, chap. 1)
Sin as Enmity toward God
In chapter 1 (the parable of the nobleman, Luke 19:12-27), Jones characterizes the fundamental sin-structure as open enmity: “We will not have this man to reign over us” (Luke 19:14; cf. John 15:23). The citizens refuse the return of the nobleman (Christ). This is the juridical ground-form of sin: rebellion against the rightful Lord as active rejection, not merely passive failure.
(Jones, Christian Zionism, chap. 1)
Jacob’s Deception as Sin-Prototype
Jones treats Jacob’s deception in chapter 2 (Gen. 27:18-19, 24) as the biblical prototype of sin: deceiving to obtain unrightful advantage. The name Jacob (יַעֲקֹב) literally means “deceiver” or “supplanter.” Jacob’s unbelief in God’s own promise is the root: he did not trust God’s timing and reached for a human means.
This hamartology has consequences for the birthright structure: the blessing-and-curse pattern that follows (Gen. 27:40; Lev. 26) is the long-term outworking of that initial sin.
(Jones, Christian Zionism, chap. 2)
Cumulative Judgment: Lev. 26 as Sin-Debt Mechanism
Jones uses Lev. 26:21-24 and 32-33 as the structural model for collective sin-debt and its accumulation. God multiplies judgment “seven times according to your sins” under continued rebellion. This applies to Israel, but also — via the merger — to the Edomite component of modern Jewry.
(Jones, Christian Zionism, chap. 2)
Edom as Sinful System
Jones characterizes in chapters 3 and 4 the Edomite system (Ezek. 35:10-11; Mal. 1:4) as the institutional embodiment of wrath, envy, and hatred. Esau’s deepest sin is not merely losing the birthright but the continuing envy toward Jacob that flows from it: “I will take possession of those two nations and those two lands” (Ezek. 35:10).
Jones views modern Zionism as the culmination of this spirit of rebellion: the attempt to obtain through human politics what has been lost through spiritual means.
(Jones, Christian Zionism, chaps. 3-4)
Spiritual Blindness as Judgment
Jones analyzes in chapter 6 spiritual blindness as a direct hamartological consequence. Isa. 29:9-10 and 13-14 describe how God covers His own prophets with a “spirit of deep sleep” — as a result of anomia (lawlessness). Failure to keep the law blocks prophetic insight: blindness is not primarily cognitive but moral-juridical in nature.
(Jones, Christian Zionism, chap. 6)