Stephen Jones — Prolegomena
b4 — The Laws of the Second Coming
Theological Method
Jones states his methodological starting point explicitly in chapter 1:
“Any serious study of Bible prophecy should begin with the feast days of Israel that are found in the law.” (Jones, The Laws of the Second Coming, ch. 1)
And on the design of the whole work:
“This book is written to explain the second coming of Christ, beginning with Moses.” (Jones, The Laws of the Second Coming, ch. 1)
Interpretation: The Law (Torah) functions for Jones as the methodological foundation for prophetic hermeneutics. Biblical prophecy cannot be understood without knowledge of the Levitical feast days as the revelatory schema.
Hermeneutics: Typological Correspondence
Jones’ central hermeneutical principle is typological correspondence between Old and New Testaments:
“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.” (Jones, The Laws of the Second Coming, ch. 1)
“The feast days provide us with the basic outline of the plan of God of salvation for the individual, as well as an outline of God’s plan (as Paul states) to ‘put all things under His feet.‘” (Jones, The Laws of the Second Coming, ch. 1; cf. 1 Cor. 15:27)
On the overlaying of typological series as an exegetical method:
“Even as the two doves deal with the problem of death, or mortality, so also do the two goats on the Day of Atonement deal with the problem of sin. While the law seems to deal with these two problems separately, they should be studied as though overlaid one upon the other. For this reason we must study both Leviticus 14 and Leviticus 16 in order to obtain a comprehensive view of Christ’s two works.” (Jones, The Laws of the Second Coming, ch. 10)
Interpretation: The overlaying method — placing typological series upon each other — is Jones’ specific hermeneutical technique for uncovering the multi-layered structure of biblical revelation.
Revelation through Types and Shadows
Jones explicitly affirms that Old Testament types and shadows carry independent revelatory value:
“These types and shadows of the Old Testament reveal that the path of restoration to full fellowship with God does not begin and end with one’s justification by faith.” (Jones, The Laws of the Second Coming, ch. 10)
“The law shows that the ‘finished work of Christ’ is in two stages, foreshadowed by the two birds of Leviticus 14 (as well as the two goats of Leviticus 16).” (Jones, The Laws of the Second Coming, ch. 10)
On the Levitical law as a medium of revelation:
“The ‘finished work of Christ’ has been taught in many Christian circles for many years, but it has not generally been defined in light of God’s law. For this reason, many think that there was no more work to be done after He died on the Cross. But this is obviously not true.” (Jones, The Laws of the Second Coming, ch. 10)
Interpretation: Types and shadows for Jones are not merely illustrative material but function as a primary mode of revelation through which the full order of salvation is disclosed — including aspects that remain hidden without the law.
Law and Gospel as Methodological Principle
Jones explicitly integrates Law and Gospel as a hermeneutical framework:
“Pentecost is the transitional feast between Passover and Tabernacles. Passover is the beginning; Tabernacles is the end. Passover imputes righteousness to us by covering us with the blood of the Lamb; Tabernacles brings us actual righteousness by removing sin from us altogether.” (Jones, The Laws of the Second Coming, ch. 10)
“The second stage of salvation is one’s Pentecostal experience, which commemorates the giving of the law at Horeb. Pentecost signifies the writing of the law upon our hearts through the hearing of the Word. Whereas Passover justifies us by faith apart from works, Pentecost begins the process of sanctification through the obedience that is the result and outworking of our faith.” (Jones, The Laws of the Second Coming, ch. 10; cf. Jer. 31:33; Heb. 8:10)
Interpretation: Jones uses the feast-day sequence (Passover → Pentecost → Tabernacles) as a hermeneutical grid for understanding the relationship between Law and Gospel: the Law is not abolished but fulfilled and internalized — this principle governs his entire reading of Scripture.
Authority of Scripture and Distinction from Human Tradition
Jones formulates a principled distinction as a hermeneutical criterion:
“One must always make a clear distinction between the traditions of men and the law.” (Jones, The Laws of the Second Coming, ch. 10)
On the priests of Jesus’ day:
“The priests of Jesus’ day had extended their application far beyond the law of leprosy. The priests of the day, in their zeal, had gone too far in their interpretations of the law, and had made the law a burden to the people.” (Jones, The Laws of the Second Coming, ch. 10)
Interpretation: The norm for correct hermeneutics is divine law itself, not interpretive tradition. Human tradition can obscure revelatory content — for Jones this constitutes an epistemological warning principle.
Hermeneutical Blindness as an Epistemological Problem
Jones identifies hermeneutical blindness as a structural problem in church history:
“We who have been endowed with 20/20 hindsight often marvel at how the people of Jesus’ day — including the disciples — could have had so little understanding of the real meaning of Passover… But even today these things are not at all clear to those whose eyes are blinded by traditional Judaism. Even more astounding is that there are so few Christian books outlining the autumn feast days, showing how they prophesy of the second coming of Christ. As a result, the end-time Church today is, generally speaking, as blind to the prophecies of His second coming as the people of Judah were to His first coming — because they do not understand the meaning of the biblical feasts.” (Jones, The Laws of the Second Coming, ch. 1)
On Jesus’ own hermeneutical teaching method:
“Luke 24:27: ‘And beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.’ […] Luke 24:44-45: ‘Now He said to them, These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled. Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.‘” (Jones, The Laws of the Second Coming, ch. 1; Luke 24:27, 44-45)
Interpretation: Jesus’ own hermeneutical practice — beginning with Moses and the prophets — is for Jones the normative model. Blindness to the feast days is not merely a lack of knowledge but a spiritual epistemological blockage that conceals revelation.
Exegetical Method: Hebrew Idiom and Historical Reconstruction
Jones employs linguistics as an exegetical tool:
“Lamsa says in his Idioms in the Bible Explained, page 46, that in the East those who are ‘in difficulties and a dilemma’ are said to be ‘in the belly of the whale.’ It is a Hebrew idiom, drawn, no doubt, from the story of Jonah. In English, the equivalent of this idiom is to be ‘in a pickle’ or ‘in a jam.‘” (Jones, The Laws of the Second Coming, ch. 1; cf. Jonah 1:17; Matt. 12:40)
Interpretation: Knowledge of the Hebrew linguistic idiom is for Jones an indispensable hermeneutical tool for avoiding wooden literalism and grasping the intended meaning of biblical texts.