Restoration of God's People--When? Examining Isaiah 61

Jehovah's Witnesses teach that the restoration of God's people in modern times occured shortly after Jesus began his ride as King in 1914. But there are some would be prophets and their followers, who have risen up from among Jehovah's Witnesses, claiming that the restoration is yet future and will occur after God punishes His people just prior to Armageddon by the King of the North. And so they proclaim their 'truth about the Truth' as if it were truth beyond any doubt whatsoever. But a closer examination of the prophecy in Isaiah 61 will help us to arrive at the correct conclusion as to when the restoration of God's people began in modern times.

Isaiah 61 beginning in verse 1 reads: "The spirit of the Sovereign Lord Jehovah is upon me, for the reason that Jehovah has anointed me to tell good news to the meek ones. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to those taken captive and the wide opening [of the eyes] even to the prisoners; 2 to proclaim the year of goodwill on the part of Jehovah and the day of vengeance on the part of our God; to comfort all the mourning ones; 3 to assign to those mourning over Zion, to give them a headdress instead of ashes, the oil of exultation instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of the downhearted spirit; and they must be called big trees of righteousness, the planting of Jehovah, for [him] to be beautified. 4 And they must rebuild the long-standing devastated places; they will raise up even the desolated places of former times, and they will certainly make anew the devastated cities, the places desolate for generation after generation.


Jesus Application of the Prophecy in the First Century

A reading of Luke 4 tells us exactly how it was fulfilled in the first century. 17 "So the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed him, and he opened the scroll and found the place where it was written: 18 “Jehovah’s spirit is upon me, because he anointed me to declare good news to the poor, he sent me forth to preach a release to the captives and a recovery of sight to the blind, to send the crushed ones away with a release, 19 to preach Jehovah’s acceptable year.” 20 With that he rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were intently fixed upon him. 21 Then he started to say to them: “Today this scripture that YOU just heard is fulfilled.”

From this it is clear that Jesus had come to preach a release for captives. But captives of what? In 607BCE the nation of Israel had went into captivity in Babylon. But they had long ago been released from that captivity in 537BCE. The captivity that Jesus now was preaching a release from was the captivity to the Jewish religion that had left the teachings of Jehovah with there manmade traditions.

Did you notice what the results of his preaching would be? Isaiah 61:3 continues, "to assign to those mourning over Zion, to give them a headdress instead of ashes, the oil of exultation instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of the downhearted spirit; and they must be called big trees of righteousness, the planting of Jehovah, for [him] to be beautified."

As a result of Jesus' preaching work 'big trees of righteousness' were brought forth. These big trees as anointed followers of Jesus would follow his example in preaching a release for captives. But most interesting is what the next verse alludes to.

4 And they must rebuild the long-standing devastated places; they will raise up even the desolated places of former times, and they will certainly make anew the devastated cities, the places desolate for generation after generation."

The question here must be asked: Is this a literal rebuilding of devastated places? It certainly was in 537BCE. But Jerusalem was in no way destroyed and rebuilt just prior to 33CE. Since this is not a literal rebuilding of devastated places and cities in 33CE then we must ask: Were the Jews as a religious people literally devastated at this time by a national beast-like army so that there was need of regathering them and rebuilding the devastated people in a symbolic sense? No, there had been no such attack by the Roman armies or any other armies so that they needed to be regathered and rebuilt symbolically speaking for this reason.

So the question that logically follows is: In what sense was the Jewish religion devastated since it was not at the hands of any outside force such as the Roman armies? Notice the comments by the WT, July 1, 1978:
13 It was because of the spiritual state into which the nation of Israel had come. True, Jehovah had executed a "day of vengeance" on the Babylonian Empire, whose rulers had refused to ‘open the way homeward to the prisoners.’ (Isa. 14:17; Jer. 50:15, 28; 51:6, 11, 36) When restored thereafter to their homeland those Jewish "prisoners" did not come into bondage to idolatry with literal graven images. Yet they came into a greater bondage, that to the religious system of Judaism. This was a system dominated by precepts and traditions of men, things that made invalid the Law and the commandments of Jehovah God. The official scribes and Pharisees became prominent in this religious system. They blinded the people to the truth by taking away "the key of knowledge," hindering them from entering into the kingdom of God, and binding heavy loads on the common people that they themselves would not touch.—Luke 11:52.
14 Moreover, those leaders in Judaism, like blind guides, led the blinded Jews in the way that ends up in the ditch of national destruction. They maneuvered Zion, or Jerusalem, into rejecting the real Messiah, Jesus, and having him put to death on a stake as if he were a false Christ. Those religious leaders kept Jerusalem on the path of being a killer of prophets and a stoner of those whom her God sent. (Matt. 23:1-37) So, did the "meek" ones of such a nation need to have "good news" told to them? Were those "taken captive" needing to have liberty proclaimed to them? Were there "prisoners" that needed to have a "wide opening of the eyes" by being brought out of the dungeon of religious darkness? Was Zion, or Jerusalem, as the center of Jehovah’s worship in such a religiously devastated state that there was real cause for mourning over her? Yes, indeed! And the anointed Jesus saw that there was then a remnant of such "mourning ones" among the Jews.

How were the captives released and the devastated places restored? Again the same WT comments:
23 From all of this, what do we today observe? This fact, that, in keeping with his own anointing, Jesus Christ pioneered a restoration work toward those who became his disciples. Jehovah used him to pour out holy spirit on his baptized disciples, so that these recipients of holy spirit themselves became persons anointed with the spirit of the Sovereign Lord Jehovah. (2 Cor. 1:21; 1 John 2:20, 27) Now they also were commissioned to tell "good news" to the "meek" ones in the nation of Israel, to proclaim liberty to the captives and a release for the prisoners, and to comfort all those mourning over Zion. In this way they could help others whom they were used to comfort and liberate into exulting over "the year of goodwill on the part of Jehovah" and into praising him for restoring them to his favor and service by means of his anointed ones.
24 That outpouring of the spirit made all the difference in the world for those anointed with it. Instead of being like frail plants drooping for lack of nourishment, they became like "big trees of righteousness" that only Jehovah could plant and make grow up through Christ. Man’s original "Paradise of Pleasure" had been adorned by trees of various kinds. (Gen. 2:7-9) But from Pentecost onward Jehovah planted "big trees" in the spiritual estate of his dedicated people that their enemies had devastated and desolated. Such figurative "big trees" were the stalwart, steadfast, immovable Christians that reared themselves up loftily for the righteousness of Jehovah God. He, as their Planter, was "beautified" by their presence in the newly established Christian congregation.

And so it is in connection with the restoration of the devastated places that Joel 2 is fulfilled. Please see the following link for explanation of Joel 2 in this regard. http://thetruthaboutthetruthaboutthetruth.blogspot.com/2005/10/unfaithful-jerusalem-christendom-or.html


Paul Confirms the Restoration in His Day

The apostle Paul at 2 Cor 6:2 makes the connection between the Christian congregation and the restoration of God's people. Paul said quoting Isaiah 49:8, "For he says: “In an acceptable time I heard you, and in a day of salvation I helped you.” Look! Now is the especially acceptable time. Look! Now is the day of salvation."

And what do you suppose was the topic of Isaiah 49. Yes, the restoration of God's people. Notice Isaiah 49:8-11 concerning that restoration: "8 This is what Jehovah has said: “In a time of goodwill I have answered you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you; and I kept safeguarding you that I might give you as a covenant for the people, to rehabilitate the land, to bring about the repossessing of the desolated hereditary possessions, 9 to say to the prisoners, ‘Come out!’ to those who are in the darkness, ‘Reveal yourselves!’ By the ways they will pasture, and on all beaten paths their pasturing will be. 10 They will not go hungry, neither will they go thirsty, nor will parching heat or sun strike them. For the One who is having pity upon them will lead them, and by the springs of water he will conduct them. 11 And I will make all my mountains a way, and my highways themselves will be on an elevation."

And here in 2 Cor 6 we find that Paul after quoting that prophecy of Isaiah about the restoration pointedly says, "Now is the especially acceptable time. Look! Now is the day of salvation." Can their be any doubt that there was a fulfillment of the restoration prophecies on God's people in the first century?

Applying the Prophecy in the Last Days

The parallel is evident to any who are willing to reason on the matter. The true Christian Congregation of the first century was contaminated thru the centuries by false Babylonian teachings. Christianity had come into the same condition as the Jewish religious system of the first century. There was a need for a release of the captives of false religion and the restoration of devastated places so to speak. God's people had not been literally overcome by some military force so that they needed to be regathered and restored. Just as they had not been devastated by a military force in the first century so that they needed restoration. But they were spiritually devastated. And so a spiritual restoration began at the arrival of the King Jesus Christ.

Making the parallel application the WT comments:
4 The province of Judea and Jerusalem, in which Jesus Christ and his apostles did much preaching of God’s kingdom, had long before been rehabilitated by the remnant of faithful Jews after their release from Babylonian captivity and their return to their homeland in 537 B.C.E. But did the anointed Jesus apply the prophecy of Isaiah 61:4 to that past accomplishment on the literal land of Judah? No! When he quoted the first two verses of Isaiah, chapter 61, in the synagogue of Nazareth, he pointed to the fulfillment of that chapter as beginning with him, in his day. He showed that it had a spiritual significance and did not apply to a restoration of the natural, physical, environmental conditions of the people. So the fulfillment of the prophecy extends down to our 20th century, to our day.

From this prophetic parallel it becomes clear that the restoration of God's people does not begin after their devastation by some military force such as the King of the North as proponents of the future judgment view of JWs would have you believe. No the prophecy clearly shows that the devastation of God's people was a spiritual devastation not a literal devastation. And just as God's people were restored in the first century and began to preach the good news to captive ones so likewise God's people in these last days have been restored and preach the good news of the Kingdom to the captive ones of false religion.

How can we know for sure when this restoration began? All we need do is look at the history of God's people to see when the anointed 'big trees of righteousness' began this preaching of the good news thereby releasing captives from the false Babylonian teachings that had corrupted God's people thru the past centuries. The facts prove beyond a doubt that this was shortly after the enthronement of Jesus Christ in 1914. That is when the restoration of God's people commenced and long standing devastated places began to be rebuilt. Today there are over 6 million who have been released from Babylonish captivity as a result of the preaching work of the 'big trees of righteousness.'


The Devastation--How Long?

But there is even more evidence than what has already been presented. Lets take even a closer look at Isaiah 61:4 examining the phrases that I have highlighted in red, "And they must rebuild the long-standing devastated places; they will raise up even the desolated places of former times, and they will certainly make anew the devastated cities, the places desolate for generation after generation." Why are these phrases so important to the prophecy?

Consider this. The future judgment view involves the devastation of God's people at most for 3 and 1/2 years before their restoration. Could a time period of 3.5 years or less be considered as a 'long-standing' devastation? Or a devastation that is of 'former times' that has lasted 'for generation after generation'? But on the other hand, that lenghthy time period could certainly apply to the hundreds of years before 33CE that the Jewish religion found themselves spiritually devastated. And it was for over 1500 years that the Christian congregation established in the first century was in a spiritually devastated condition of apostasy. Therefore, this leaves no doubt that the prophecy cannot apply to merely a few short years of devastation as the modern day future judgment 'prophets' would have us believe.

And so once again, by examining Bible prophecy and how it was fulfilled in the first century upon God's people, it is easy to see that the future judgment view that the restoration is yet future is not in accord with the scriptures.