Stephen E. Jones — Numerology
b8 — Free Will Versus Ownership
Number 40: Wilderness as Time of Judgment
Jones reads Num. 14:20-21 as God’s sovereign oath that He will fill the whole earth with His glory — notwithstanding Israel’s refusal to enter the Promised Land. The 40-year wilderness period (Num. 14:33-34) is the time-measure of judgment for that unbelieving generation.
“But indeed, AS I LIVE, all the earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord.”
(Num. 14:21, quoted in Jones, Free Will Versus Ownership, ch. 3)
Jones emphasizes that God’s sovereign plan foresaw that Israel would enter the Promised Land only after 40 years in the wilderness — this was not a “failure” of human free will but a fixed period of judgment and correction.
(Jones, Free Will Versus Ownership, ch. 3)
Number 70,000: Judgment through Census
Jones treats 2 Sam. 24:1-15 as a case where God incited David to number Israel, knowing the people had not kept their Sabbath years — owing God 70 Sabbath-years (490 years since Joshua). The result: 70,000 dead in the plague.
“Now again the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and it incited David against them to say, ‘Go, number Israel and Judah.‘”
(2 Sam. 24:1, quoted in Jones, Free Will Versus Ownership, ch. 3)
Jones explains that Israel owed God 70 Sabbath-years (70 × 7 = 490), and the 70,000 deaths represent 1000 per missed Sabbath-year — showing how God’s liability laws operate on the Jubilee principle (Lev. 25).
(Jones, Free Will Versus Ownership, ch. 3)
Number 1000 (Millennium): First Resurrection
Jones cites Rev. 20:4-6 that the 1000 years of Christ’s reign only includes the “firstfruits” — those who attain the first resurrection. The rest of the dead wait until after the 1000 years.
“Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power.”
(Rev. 20:6, quoted in Jones, Free Will Versus Ownership, ch. 3)
Jones links the 1000-year period to the Jubilee-pattern: 70 × 7 = 490 (Jubilee cycle), but the full millennial peace of 1000 years surpasses this as the “Great Jubilee” of all ages.
(Jones, Free Will Versus Ownership, ch. 3)
Numbers 50 and 25: Jubilee Laws
Jones treats Lev. 25 extensively in chapter 2. The number 50 (Jubilee year after 7×7+1) is the ultimate redemption date when all debts are cancelled.
“The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine; for ye are strangers and sojourners with me.”
(Lev. 25:23, quoted in Jones, Free Will Versus Ownership, ch. 2)
Jones stresses that God’s eminent domain over all land (and humans) is the basis for His liability. The number 25 appears implicitly as half the Jubilee cycle (7×7=49, +1=50).
(Jones, Free Will Versus Ownership, ch. 2)
Number 7: God’s Sovereign “Drawing”
Jones treats John 12:32 (“And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto myself”) as the ultimate proof that God’s sovereign will draws all people. The Greek helkuo means “to drag.”
“And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw [helkuo] all men unto myself.”
(John 12:32, quoted in Jones, Free Will Versus Ownership, ch. 1)
The 7-fold Spirit (Rev. 1-5) undergirds this pattern of divine fullness. Jones uses this to show that “free will” is subordinate to God’s sovereign drawing.
(Jones, Free Will Versus Ownership, ch. 1, 3)
Number 24: Elders Before the Throne
Jones references Rev. 4-5 where 24 elders (12×2, representing all creation) cast their crowns before the Throne.
“Worthy art Thou, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for Thou didst create all things, and because of Thy will they existed, and were created.”
(Rev. 4:11, quoted in Jones, Free Will Versus Ownership, ch. 2)
The 24 elders represent all humanity that will ultimately bow to God’s will. This links number 24 to the ultimate reconciliation of all things.
(Jones, Free Will Versus Ownership, ch. 2)