Stephen Jones — Numerology
b3 — Secrets of Time
Number System (Appendix E)
Jones provides in Appendix E a consolidated reference overview of biblical number meanings. Numbers 1–40 and selected higher numbers:
“1. Unity, Primacy · 2. Division, Double Witness · 3. Divine Fulness, Perfection · 4. The earth; Material Creation · 5. Grace, Favor · 6. Man, Humanity · 7. Completion; Spiritual Perfection · 8. New Beginning · 9. Visitation · 10. Divine Order; Law · 11. Imperfection, Disorder, Incompleteness · 12. Governmental Perfection/Authority · 13. Rebellion; Depravity · 14. Deliverance, Release · 15. New Direction · 16. Love · 17. Victory · 18. Oppression; Bondage · 19. Faith and Hearing · 20. Redemption · 21. Distress · 22. Sonship; Sons of Light · 23. Death and Resurrection Life · 24. Priesthood · 25. Blessing · 26. Power of Salvation · 27. Ministry of Salvation · 28. Leading of the Spirit · 29. Departure · 30. Dedication for Rulership · 31. Offspring · 32. Covenant · 33. A Sign · 34. Identification · 35. Vindication · 36. Adversary; Enemy · 37. Inheritance · 38. Work; Labor · 39. Infirmity · 40. Trial; Probation”
(Jones, Secrets of Time, App. E: “The Biblical Meanings of Numbers”)
For higher numbers the list continues:
“49. Jubilee · 50. Holy Spirit, Pentecost, Jubilee · […] 70. Universality, Restoration of All Things · […] 120. Probationary Period Awaiting the Outpouring of the Holy Spirit · 144. Resurrected saints · 153. The Sons of God · […] 414. Cursed Time · 434. Judged Time · 490. Blessed Time · […] 666. Man’s Authority Over God’s Creation · 888. Fullness of Christ’s Body · 1000. Glory of God, Completeness · 49000. Creation’s Jubilee”
(Jones, Secrets of Time, App. E)
Interpretation: Jones provides no exegetical justification per number in Appendix E but presents the list as a reference system applied throughout the whole book. Each number carries one primary theological meaning.
Hermeneutical Method for Numbers
Jones formulates a hermeneutical principle in Ch. 2:
“We have found that all Scripture has its purpose, and you only need to see the Divine Mind behind the genealogies, the numbers, and the dates to bring those passages to life.”
(Jones, Secrets of Time, Ch. 2: “Basic Bible Chronology”)
In Ch. 3 he links the law to the blueprint of time:
“The law is, and always has been, the blueprint of His intent and Plan for the earth. We have not understood His Plan because we have not understood His law.”
(Jones, Secrets of Time, Ch. 3: “120 Jubilees and the Holy Spirit”)
On the distinction in time-reckoning:
“However, there are different ways of reckoning time, and we can obtain valuable insights into the ways of God if we make the effort to study His workings throughout history.”
(Jones, Secrets of Time, Ch. 2)
Interpretation: For Jones, numbers are the structural language of God’s decrees — not decorative but constitutive for biblical chronology and prophecy. The key to difficult Scripture passages (genealogies, chronological data) lies in recognizing this numerical pattern.
The Number 7 and the Three Rests
Jones situates the jubilee doctrine within a three-level numerical structure of sabbath and rest:
“There are three ‘rests’ in the law: the 7th day, the 7th year, and the Jubilee (7 x 7 years). The seventh-day rest is the most fundamental level of rest. All servants, and even animals, were to be given a day of rest. […] The servants who had sold themselves for debt […] may have to return to their servanthood after the rest year. […] The greatest rest is the Jubilee, when all debts are canceled and every man returns to his inheritance. The Jubilee ends all servitude.”
(Jones, Secrets of Time, Ch. 1: “Grace in the Law of Jubilee”)
Interpretation: The number 7 functions on three simultaneous levels — daily, yearly and cyclical-jubilee (7×7=49). This forms the numerical framework for Jones’ entire redemption theology.
The Number 49 and the Jubilee
Jones explains the jubilee mathematics. On the jubilee of jubilees:
“The 50th year was also the first year of the next Jubilee cycle. Because the 50th year overlapped the first year of the next cycle, a period of ten Jubilees is actually 490 years, rather than 500 years. And 50 Jubilees is actually 50 x 49 years, or 2450 years.”
(Jones, Secrets of Time, Ch. 2)
On the application to Israel at Kadesh Barnea:
“It was a Jubilee of Jubilees, when every man was to return to his possession (Lev. 25:13). […] And so the Jubilee of Jubilees has tremendous implications.”
(Jones, Secrets of Time, Ch. 2)
The Number 490 and Blessed Time
Jones introduces “Blessed Time” as the foundational principle of biblical prophecy, based on Matt. 18:22:
“Jesus was revealing what we call the ‘law of Blessed Time,’ which governs the patience, forgiveness, and grace of God. […] Note the Jubilee connection. The number 490 is a period of ten Jubilees. This is the basic unit of measure in long-term Bible prophecy. It surfaces only three times in the Bible: Genesis 4:24, Matthew 18:22, and Daniel 9:24. Yet all of history is measured in Jubilees and 490-year periods, because this is the basis of God’s prophetic calendar.”
(Jones, Secrets of Time, Ch. 1)
On the national application:
“As a matter of convenience, I use the term ‘Blessed Time’ to describe the 490-year grace period leading to the Jubilee. […] Blessed Time (490 years) is the grace period that God gives to a nation that is basically obedient to His law.”
(Jones, Secrets of Time, Ch. 1)
On forgiveness and the national accounting cycle:
“God forgave the nation of Israel once a year, or 49 times every Jubilee cycle, or 490 times every ten Jubilees. Jesus knew that under normal circumstances, God would forgive the nation 490 times before reckoning the account to determine whether to give them an extension of grace.”
(Jones, Secrets of Time, Ch. 1)
[TENSION with standard exegesis: Jones’ coupling of Matt. 18:22 to a national chronological cycle is a typological extension, not a standard exegetical reading.]
Chronological versus Legal Time
Jones introduces a key distinction for his chronological system:
“In the matter of ten Jubilees, we could say that this is 490 years of chronological time, but it is 500 years of legal time. In other words, by overlapping one year each Jubilee cycle, God compacts 500 years into just 490. And in 120 Jubilees, God crams 6,000 years into just 5880 years. Thus, while 1986 A.D. is 120 years short of 6,000 years, it is actually a full 6,000 years of legal time. In this way God can do things ‘early.’ Or, as Jesus put it, God shortens the time for the sake of the elect (Matt. 24:22). Let me stress, however, that God always does things precisely according to His time schedule.”
(Jones, Secrets of Time, Ch. 2)
On the biblical calendar:
“Incidentally, the true biblical calendar is based upon the Jubilee system, which goes in 49-year cycles. The 120th Jubilee is figured by multiplying 49 x 120, which is 5880. This means that the fall of 1986 was the 120th Jubilee from Adam.”
(Jones, Secrets of Time, Ch. 2)
Interpretation: The chronological/legal distinction enables Jones to harmonize biblical and historical timelines without forcing the text.
The Number 120 and the Holy Spirit
Jones constructs a systematic biblical-numerological argument for the significance of 120:
“All of the prophetic patterns of the Bible indicate that the number 120 deals with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. There were 120 priests blowing trumpets at the dedication of Solomon’s Temple, when the Spirit of God filled that Temple. There were 120 disciples in the upper room when the Spirit came to human Temples.”
(Jones, Secrets of Time, Ch. 3)
On Gen. 6:3 and Jones’ hermeneutics:
“Most people think this means that God was going to shorten men’s lifespan to 120 years. But this is not really the force of the statement. Bullinger and other commentators agree that this means man’s time of grace was to be 120 years. In other words, the Flood was to come after 120 years of opportunity to repent.”
(Jones, Secrets of Time, Ch. 3 — on Gen. 6:3)
The extension from 120 years to 120 Jubilees:
“The Flood of water occurred after 120 years; the greater Flood is connected to the 120th Jubilee (1986 A.D.). […] The Flood of water occurred after 120 years; the Flood of the Spirit occurs after 120 Jubilees. As we said earlier, the fall of 1986 was the 120th Jubilee. This was the beginning, the hinge point of the outpouring of the Spirit.”
(Jones, Secrets of Time, Ch. 3)
On the number 22 in relation to the Sons of Light (re 2Chr. 7:5):
“The number 22 is the number of ‘light’ according to Bible numerology (the meaning of numbers in the Bible). […] The number of Levites that were available to redeem the firstborn of Israel were precisely 22,000 (Num. 3:39). Thus, the number 22,000 signifies the firstborn Sons of God, and they are associated with His light. Solomon also offered 120,000 sheep to God. The number 120 deals directly with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.”
(Jones, Secrets of Time, Ch. 3)
The Number 40 and Trial in Salvation History
On the three-fold 40-year period in Moses’ life as prophetic type:
“Why did God have Moses live to be precisely 120 years old? It has everything to do with our subject at hand. In fact, the life of Moses is one of the most profound and striking prophecies of the 120 Jubilees of history leading up to 1986 A.D. Moses’ life was divided into three periods of 40 years each.”
(Jones, Secrets of Time, Ch. 3)
On the 40 Jubilees of the Pentecostal Age:
“The crucifixion of Jesus ended the Passover Age, and in Acts 2 the Pentecostal Age began, which was a 40-Jubilee period from 33 A.D. to 1993 A.D.”
(Jones, Secrets of Time, Ch. 2)
Interpretation: The number 40 functions both on the personal level (Moses’ life) and the historical level (40-jubilee periods). Jones sees this as typological correspondence demonstrating the unity of God’s plan.
The Number 50 and Pentecost
On the counting toward Pentecost (Lev. 23:15-16):
“The day of the Wave-Sheaf Offering was the first day of a 50-day count toward the day of Pentecost (Lev. 23:15-16). […] The Feast of Pentecost deals with the second dove sent out. It is a greater anointing that begins the work of Sanctification.”
(Jones, Secrets of Time, Ch. 3)
Jubilee of Creation (49,000 years)
Jones extends the jubilee logic to the cosmic-eschatological level:
“Creation itself, I believe, will be set free by the law of Jubilee after 1000 Jubilees have passed. This will be 50,000 years of legal time, but only 49,000 years of chronology (1000 x 49). This is the Jubilee on the Creation level, which is the highest and most far-reaching level. It will affect all of Creation.”
(Jones, Secrets of Time, Ch. 1)
On the six creation days as structural principle:
“The year 1986 A.D. is the 120th Jubilee from Adam. In terms of Creation, it is the end of six days of a Creation week — 5880 years of chronology, but 6,000 years of ‘legal time.’ In one sense, we have already entered into the first Creation Sabbath millennium.”
(Jones, Secrets of Time, Ch. 1)
Interpretation: Jones’ numerology has a cosmic horizon: the jubilee principle structures not only human history but the entire creation duration of 49,000 years.