Stephen Jones — Soteriologie
b1 — Creation’s Jubilee
Apokatastasis / Herstel van alle dingen
Hoofdstuk 5 legt de leer van de apokatastasis programmatisch uiteen:
“The purpose of this book is to reveal the secret of His will. This secret is that God will reconcile ‘The All’ of creation, as Paul told the Colossians. It is to be the Savior of ‘all men,’ as Paul told Timothy. It is to justify ‘all men,’ as Paul told the Romans. It is to make ‘all men’ alive and to subject ‘The All’ to Himself, as Paul told the Corinthians. It is that ‘every knee’ will bow and ‘every tongue’ will confess, as Paul told the Philippians. This is the mystery, the secret, which Jesus revealed to Paul in the three years he spent in the desert.” — Jones, Creation’s Jubilee, Hoofdstuk 5
Jones hanteert Handelingen 3:21 als programmatische tekst: “whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time.”
Interpretatie: Jones omschrijft apokatastasis niet als speculatieve mogelijkheid maar als “the secret of His will” — een intentioneel verborgen maar duidelijk bijbels leerstuk.
Omvang van verzoening (Universele verzoening)
Jones citeert Kolossenzen 1:16-20 als helderste bewijs voor universele verzoening:
“For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fulness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things [ta panta, ‘the all’] to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven.” — Kol. 1:19-20, geciteerd in Jones, Creation’s Jubilee, Hoofdstuk 5
Jones onderstreept: “Paul first defines ‘the all’ as the created universe, both in heaven and on earth, including not only visible things like people, but even the invisible things like authority itself. Then Paul says that it was THE FATHER’S GOOD PLEASURE to reconcile all these things to Himself by the blood of Jesus. Can anything be clearer?”
Aanvullend haalt Jones 1 Johannes 2:2 aan, met commentaar van Clemens van Alexandrië:
“And not only for our sins, that is, for those of the faithful, is the Lord the Propitiator does he say, but also for the whole world. He, indeed, saves all; but some He saves converting them by punishments; others, however, who follow voluntarily He saves with dignity of honour.” — Clemens van Alexandrië, Commentary on 1 John, geciteerd in Jones, Hoofdstuk 5
Jones citeert Johannes 12:32 als bewijs dat Christus’ offer universele reikwijdte heeft:
“‘And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.’ … Was Jesus ‘lifted up’ on the cross? Of course He was. Then He will indeed draw ALL MEN unto Himself. He died for the salvation of the whole world, not just a few, and His blood has never lost its power.” — Jones, Creation’s Jubilee, Hoofdstuk 5
Interpretatie: Jones definieert “draw” (helkuo) als “to drag” — een werkwoord dat in de Griekse context altijd een opgelegde wil impliceert (vgl. Joh. 6:44; 21:6; Jak. 2:6). Hij concludeert: “The day will come when God’s will is going to be imposed upon all men.”
Rechtvaardiging voor alle mensen
Jones verbindt zijn leer van universele rechtvaardiging aan het Adam-Christus-parallel in Romeinen 5:
“So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men.” — Rom. 5:18, geciteerd in Jones, Creation’s Jubilee, Hoofdstuk 5
Jones’s kernargument:
“It is self-evident that all men (NO EXCEPTIONS) were affected by Adam’s sin. All men were born mortal. In the same way, Jesus’ act of righteousness results in the justification of all those who died in Adam. Paul is talking about the same group of people. If Adam’s sin affected all men, and Jesus’ righteous act affected only a tiny fraction of men, then Jesus could hardly be compared to Adam. Surely Adam’s power is not greater than Jesus’ power!” — Jones, Creation’s Jubilee, Hoofdstuk 5
Aanvullend: 1 Timoteüs 4:10-11:
“For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all men, especially of believers.”
Jones’s uitleg: “Believers are especially singled out, because their salvation comes first. Theirs will be a greater honor, because they will inherit Life in the Kingdom. But yet, God is the Savior of ALL MEN.”
Interpretatie: Jones leest “especially” (malista) niet exclusief maar inclusief — gelovigen zijn de eersten in volgorde, niet de enigen in omvang.
Verlossing in drie fasen (Drie oogsteskadrons)
Jones werkt een driefasige verlossingsstructuur uit op basis van 1 Korintiërs 15:22-28:
“For as in Adam all die, so also in [the] Christ all shall be made alive. But each in his own order [tagma, ‘squadron’]: Christ the first fruits [or, ‘anointed firstfruits’], after that those who are [the] Christ’s at His coming [parousia], then comes the end…” — 1 Kor. 15:22-24, geciteerd in Jones, Hoofdstuk 5
Jones beschrijft drie squadrons:
- Eerste squadron — de eerstelingen (firstfruits): erven de eerste opstanding; “anointed firstfruits” van de gerstoogst
- Tweede squadron — de kerk in het algemeen: opgewekt bij de tweede opstanding (de grote witte troon); “wheat harvest”
- Derde squadron — de ongelovigen die worden beoordeeld in de eindtijdperiode: “grape harvest” — God vertrapt de druiven totdat alle vijanden onder zijn voeten zijn
Jones over het eindresultaat: “‘God may be all in all’ means the fullness of the Holy Spirit will be in all men, NOT some in all, or all in some, but all in all.”
Uitverkiezing / Predestinatie
Hoofdstuk 11 legt Jones’s visie op verkiezing uiteen. Zijn kernstelling:
“The God of the Bible has merely predestinated certain ones to be saved FIRST. The others are predestinated to be saved LATER. Meanwhile, there is much ‘futility’ in creation.” — Jones, Creation’s Jubilee, Hoofdstuk 11
Jones baseert dit op Efeze 1:4-5:
“Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will.”
Over het Jakob/Esau-voorbeeld:
“God chose them BEFORE either of them had done either good or evil. Keep in mind that these are Paul’s examples to prove the doctrine; they are not exceptions to the rule. So Esau was NOT rejected on the basis of his evil works, nor was Jacob elected on account of any good works. God is said to have chosen them before birth in order to prove to us that it was NOT ‘of works’ but only ‘of Him that calleth.’ Election therefore means that God is causing, and man is responding to that causal force.” — Jones, Creation’s Jubilee, Hoofdstuk 11
Interpretatie: Jones stelt dat Esau’s “verwerping” geen eeuwige uitsluiting is maar een tijdelijke volgorde-positie. God kiest wie eerder wordt gered, niet wie ooit gered wordt.
Derde weg: voorbij Calvijn en Arminius
Jones bekritiseert beide tradities op basis van hun gedeelde premisse:
“Most people object to the doctrine of predestination because it is linked to the idea that God has predestinated most of humanity to burn in hell forever. They object to the injustice attributed to God. Such people are to be commended for not wanting to believe in such an unjust God. However, the God of the Bible has merely predestinated certain ones to be saved FIRST. The others are predestinated to be saved LATER.” — Jones, Creation’s Jubilee, Hoofdstuk 11
Over Calvijn en Augustinus:
“If God had indeed predestined most of humanity to burn in an eternal fire, then yes, indeed, God would be unjust. Only a few with strong stomachs have ever believed this, among whom are Augustine and Calvin. … Instead of questioning the Achan Doctrine of eternal torment, most doubted the doctrine of election and predestination! … It is no wonder that most people think that Romans 9 is so ‘difficult’ to understand. It is only difficult if one has a prior assumption in his mind that these non-elect will burn forever in a fiery hell.” — Jones, Creation’s Jubilee, Hoofdstuk 11
Interpretatie: Jones stelt dat de tegenstelling Calvijn/Arminius een vals dilemma is dat ontstaat uit de valse premisse van eeuwige straf. Als universele restauratie waar is, zijn sterke predestinatie én Gods liefde voor allen volledig te combineren.
Thelema en Boulema: Gods wil en Gods plan
Jones introduceert een onderscheid tussen twee Griekse woorden voor Gods wil:
“The Greek words to describe each in the New Testament are thelema (‘will’) and boulema (‘plan’). The word thelema denotes the will in the sense of the desire or wish. However, the word boulema refers to one’s resolve. It goes beyond a mere desire.” — Jones, Creation’s Jubilee, Hoofdstuk 11
Toepassing op Farao:
“It was God’s will [thelema] that Pharaoh let Israel go. But it was in God’s plan [boulema] that Pharaoh should resist God’s will. Thus, God hardened Pharaoh’s heart in order to carry out that plan.”
Conclusie: “Man is judged only on the level of his obedience to the thelema of God, for this is the level of his authority. God takes full responsibility for that which He does according to His boulema plan.”
Interpretatie: Dit onderscheid functioneert als Jones’s theodicee-antwoord bij predestinatie: menselijke verantwoordelijkheid werkt op het niveau van thelema; Gods soevereine plan (boulema) omvat en draagt de schepping naar haar doel.
Zekerheid van Gods uiteindelijk doel
Jones baseert Gods zekerheid op Hebreeën 2:8-9:
“For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. … that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.” — Hebr. 2:8-9, geciteerd in Jones, Hoofdstuk 5
Jones concludeert: “‘He left nothing that is NOT subject to Him.’ … The Scripture says Jesus tasted death for EVERYONE.”
Filippenzen 2:10-11 en Openbaring 5:13 worden geciteerd als bevestiging dat “every knee shall bow” uiteindelijk vrijwillige aanbidding is, niet slechts gedwongen overgave — want Openbaring 5:13 beschrijft het als “saying, ‘To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.‘”