Stephen Jones — Eschatologie
b2 — The Restoration of All Things
Apokatastasis en Restorationisme
Jones onderscheidt scherp tussen universalisme (dat goddelijk oordeel ontkent) en restorationisme (dat oordeel affirmeert als corrigerend middel):
“This booklet shows the difference between Universalism, which denies all divine judgment, and Restorationism, which teaches that the judgments of the law are corrective and restorative.” (The Restoration of All Things, introductie)
Interpretatie: Jones positioneert zijn eigen visie als restorationisme, niet als klassiek universalisme — het onderscheid is theologisch cruciaal voor zijn positie.
Acts 3:20-21 als sleuteltekst:
“21 whom the heavens must receive until the times of the restitution [‘restoration’—NASB] of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.” (Jones citeert Hand. 3:21, in The Restoration of All Things, hoofdstuk 1)
“The need for restoration in the ages to come implies that the world has become corrupted and is in need of restoration. […] the second coming of Christ will bring about this restoration.” (The Restoration of All Things, hoofdstuk 1)
Oordeel als herstel, niet als vernietiging:
“the divine judgments that are coming upon the earth are meant to restore all things, not to destroy all things. The law destroys the sin, not the sinner, and the law’s judgments destroy the sin from the earth, rather than destroying the earth itself.” (The Restoration of All Things, hoofdstuk 1)
[SPANNING met eerdere bron] In b1 (Creation’s Jubilee) legt Jones ook apokatastasis uit, maar met nadruk op de jubeljaarstructuur en drie opstandingen. In b2 is de nadruk strikter juridisch-wettelijk: restoratief oordeel via de wet van de Kinsman-Redeemer en het Jubeljaar.
Wederkomst als Herstel
Jones keert zich tegen de populaire voorstelling van Christus’ wederkomst als puur straf:
“Normally, Christians are taught that Jesus is coming back soon—and boy is He mad! We are afflicted with Jonathan Edwards’ ‘Angry God’ Syndrome, instead of the biblical view of the God of Love as manifested in Jesus Christ.” (The Restoration of All Things, hoofdstuk 1)
“It is a function of the Elijah ministry to ‘restore all things’ (Matt. 17:11), and Acts 3:21 above tells us that this ministry of restoration was prophesied throughout the Old Testament.” (The Restoration of All Things, hoofdstuk 1)
Verzoening als zending van de kerk:
“to wit, that God was in Christ reconciling THE WORLD unto Himself, not imputing THEIR trespasses unto THEM; and has committed unto US the word of reconciliation.” (Jones citeert 2 Kor. 5:19, in The Restoration of All Things, hoofdstuk 1)
Aionios als Aioonperiode — Eeuwige Straf vs. Tijdelijk Oordeel
Jones werkt de hermeneutiek van aion/aionios verder uit dan in b1:
“The Greek noun aion means ‘an eon,’ or ‘an age.’ Its adjective form is aionios, which means ‘age-abiding,’ or ‘pertaining to an age.‘” (The Restoration of All Things, hoofdstuk 3)
Augustinus’ vertaalfout als historisch keerpunt:
“When Jerome translated the Greek New Testament into his Latin Vulgate, he had two Latin words that were a rough equivalent of aionian. They were aeternum and seculum. […] Augustine took the word aeternus to mean unending time, rather than an indefinite period of time. His influence essentially established this definition as the standard meaning of aeternus.” (The Restoration of All Things, hoofdstuk 3)
“Augustine’s failure to learn Greek was a momentous casualty of the late Roman educational system; he will become the only Latin philosopher in antiquity to be virtually ignorant of Greek.” (Jones citeert Peter Brown, Augustine of Hippo, p. 36, in The Restoration of All Things, hoofdstuk 3)
Moderne vertalingen die aionios correct weergeven:
“There are at least four modern translations that render the word aionian correctly. Young’s Literal renders it ‘age-during.’ Rotherham’s The Emphasized Bible renders it ‘age-abiding.’ Wilson’s Emphatic Diaglott and The Concordant New Testament leave the original Greek word intact, simply using aionian.” (The Restoration of All Things, hoofdstuk 3)
Mattheus 25:46 en de Cambridge Bible Commentary:
“46. eternal punishment, i.e., punishment characteristic of the Age to come, not meaning that it lasts for ever. ‘eternal life, i.e., the life that belongs to the Age to come, the full abundant life which is fellowship with God.‘” (Jones citeert Cambridge Bible Commentary, A.W. Argyle, in The Restoration of All Things, hoofdstuk 3)
Aioonse Leven als timing, niet kwaliteit:
“aionian life specifically references TIMING, not merely the QUALITY of life. It is immortal life IN THE AGE, not mere immortality by itself.” (The Restoration of All Things, hoofdstuk 3)
De frase olam va’ad als bewijs dat aion eindig is:
“the Hebrew phrase olam va’ad, ‘to the age and beyond.’ (used in Ex. 15:18; Ps. 9:5; Ps. 10:16; Ps. 45:6; Dan. 12:3)” (The Restoration of All Things, hoofdstuk 3)
Interpretatie: Jones’ argument is dat als aion/olam intrinsiek eeuwig betekende, de combinatie olam va’ad pleonastisch zou zijn. Het bestaan van die combinatie bewijst dat olam zelf begrensd is.
Oordeel: Witte Troon als Herstelgericht
Iedere knie zal buigen — Gods onvoorwaardelijke gelofte:
“Here God swears that every knee will bow and every tongue swear allegiance to Him. This, of course, will occur at the Great White Throne Judgment, when there will be no more unbelievers.” (The Restoration of All Things, hoofdstuk 4)
“When God makes a vow, we ought to take special notice of it. His vow in Isaiah 45 is not based upon any conditions.” (The Restoration of All Things, hoofdstuk 4)
“Geen tweede kans” — Jones weerlegt dit:
“The feast of Passover is a celebration of the Cross and the Lamb of God who died for the sin of the world. […] But in Numbers 9:9-11 God revealed to Moses that if a man could not keep the Passover in the first month, he was to keep it in the second month. This prophesies of the second opportunity for justification.” (The Restoration of All Things, hoofdstuk 4)
1 Timotheus 4:10:
“we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.” (Jones citeert 1 Tim. 4:10, in The Restoration of All Things, hoofdstuk 4)
“There is a special salvation for believers, but He will save all men. As the song goes, ‘The greatest treasure remains for those who gladly choose You now!‘” (The Restoration of All Things, hoofdstuk 4)
Belijdenis als werk van de Heilige Geest:
“In 1 Cor. 12:3 Paul says, ‘no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit.’ So let no one say that their confession was apart from the moving of the Holy Spirit.” (The Restoration of All Things, hoofdstuk 4)
Opstanding en Adam-Christus Symmetrie
Jones bouwt zijn universalisme op de structurele parallel in 1 Korintiërs 15:
“For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive.” (Jones citeert 1 Kor. 15:22, in The Restoration of All Things, hoofdstuk 5)
“Even as Adam’s sin brought death to ALL men and subjected the entire creation to vanity (Rom. 8:20), so also Christ’s righteousness brought life to ALL men and set the entire creation free.” (The Restoration of All Things, hoofdstuk 5)
Timing vs. feit van de verzoening:
“Jesus established the FACT of universal reconciliation, but the TIMING is determined by our will and actions.” (The Restoration of All Things, hoofdstuk 5)
De structuur van opstandingen:
“The overcomers will receive aionian life (‘life in The Age’) in the first resurrection (Rev. 20:4-6) so that they might reign with Him during the thousand-year Tabernacles Age. The rest of the believers will be given life (immortality) when the thousand years is finished.” (The Restoration of All Things, hoofdstuk 5)
“Those who refused Christ during their life time on earth, along with the great majority of mankind who never had opportunity to hear of Him in the life time, will confess Him as Lord at the Great White Throne.” (The Restoration of All Things, hoofdstuk 5)
Jerome’s vertaalfout in Rm 5:12:
“When Jerome translated the Latin Vulgate around 400 A.D., he rendered the last phrase of Rom. 5:12, ‘because all have sinned’ instead of ‘on which all sinned.’ […] Paul was talking about two kinds of death: the first being the result of Adam’s sin, and the second being the result of our own sin.” (The Restoration of All Things, hoofdstuk 5)
Hel en Vuurpoel als Corrigerend Oordeel
Jones werkt zijn juridische interpretatie van de vuurpoel uit:
“Those who refused Christ during their life time […] will be judged according to their works (Rev. 20:13). Because all sin is reckoned as a debt, the great Judge will reckon each man’s ‘debt’ according to his sin […] and then sentence him to be ‘sold’ according to the law in Ex. 22:3.” (The Restoration of All Things, hoofdstuk 5)
“This time of biblical slavery (being a bondservant) is how the law judges debtors. All of the judgments of the law are said to be ‘fire.’ The totality of these judgments is called the ‘lake of fire’ (Rev. 20:14). No one will be tortured, for torture is not a judgment in biblical law.” (The Restoration of All Things, hoofdstuk 5)
“The fire is the Word of God, including the ‘fiery law’ (Deut. 33:2). […] When He comes in a baptism of fire, its purpose is to destroy ‘the flesh’ and quicken our mortal bodies (Rom. 8:11).” (The Restoration of All Things, hoofdstuk 5)
Jesaja 26:9 als correctief oordeel:
“for when the earth experiences Thy judgments, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.” (Jones citeert Jes. 26:9, in The Restoration of All Things, hoofdstuk 5)
Jubeljaar als Eschatologisch Einddoel
Jones’ meest distinctieve bijdrage in dit boek is de juridische fundering van de apokatastasis in de Jubeljaarwet:
“Under the law of Jubilee, all debtors are to be set free from bondage at the end of each 49-year cycle. […] This prevented perpetual debts and also prevented never-ending punishment for sin. This is the Law of Grace in Scripture.” (The Restoration of All Things, hoofdstuk 7)
“Lev. 25:54 says, ‘Even if he is not redeemed by those means, he shall still go out in the year of Jubilee, both he and his sons with him.‘” (Jones citeert Lev. 25:54, in The Restoration of All Things, hoofdstuk 7)
“He will invoke eminent domain over all creation by the law of Jubilee. All that was His at the beginning will be restored to Him. It is written in the law of Jubilee, for ‘even if he is not redeemed by those means, he shall still go out in the year of Jubilee.‘” (The Restoration of All Things, hoofdstuk 7)
Kinsman-Redeemer als juridisch fundament:
“You can purchase anything, but you can redeem only that which you once owned. […] Jesus came to redeem that which He had owned but which later had been sold according to the divine law.” (The Restoration of All Things, hoofdstuk 7)
“Jesus therefore had the MEANS to redeem all of creation, and as a near Kinsman, he also had the lawful RIGHT of redemption.” (The Restoration of All Things, hoofdstuk 7)
Nieuwe Schepping en Herstel van Alle Naties
Het Noachitisch verbond als universele basis:
“This covenant is not only with Noah and sons (man), but also with the birds, cattle, and beast of the earth. […] the covenant was ‘established between Me and all flesh that is on the earth.‘” (Jones over Gen. 9:9-17, in The Restoration of All Things, hoofdstuk 8)
“Thus, we have three distinct witnesses—Moses, Ezekiel, and John—who tell us that the four living creatures in the covenant with Noah are represented around the throne of God.” (The Restoration of All Things, hoofdstuk 8)
Openbaring 5:13-14 — alle schepping looft God:
“And every thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, ‘To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.’ And the four living creatures kept saying, ‘Amen.‘” (Jones citeert Openb. 5:13-14, in The Restoration of All Things, hoofdstuk 8)
“‘What a sublime conception have we here before us! The whole universe, from its remotest star to the things around us, and beneath our feet, is one—one in feeling, in emotion, in expression; one in heart and voice.‘” (Jones citeert Rev. William Milligan, The Expositor’s Bible, Vol. 6, p. 854, in The Restoration of All Things, hoofdstuk 8)
Vijf verbonden als progressief plan:
“Five specific covenants in progressive order […] the covenant with Noah (universal), the covenant with Abraham (the people through whom), the covenant with Moses (standard of righteousness), the covenant with David (throne/rulership), and the New Covenant (ratified by Christ’s blood).” (Jones, The Restoration of All Things, hoofdstuk 8 — geparafraseerde opsomming)
Kolossenzen 1:16-20:
“through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.” (Jones citeert Kol. 1:20, in The Restoration of All Things, hoofdstuk 8)
Davids profetieën over alle naties:
“Psalm 66:4 says, ‘All the earth will worship Thee, and will sing praises to Thee.‘” (Jones citeert Ps. 66:4, in The Restoration of All Things, hoofdstuk 9)
“Psalm 67 […] ‘Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for Thou wilt judge the peoples with uprightness, and guide the nations on the earth.‘” (Jones citeert Ps. 67:4, in The Restoration of All Things, hoofdstuk 9)
“Revelation 15:3, 4 in the Song of Moses: ‘Who will NOT fear, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? For Thou alone art holy; for all the nations will come and worship before Thee, for Thy righteous acts have been revealed.‘” (Jones citeert Openb. 15:3-4, in The Restoration of All Things, hoofdstuk 9)
“He does not intend to destroy His inheritance, but to bring joy to it through righteous judgment.” (The Restoration of All Things, hoofdstuk 9)