I know you have discussed this topic in videos and written articles, and for me, the Biblical evidence seems pretty obvious that Christ’s bride is a limited and balanced number of 144,000 co-rulers. But, some try to overturn this simple truth with various types of reasoning. One such reasoning is this: If the 144,000 is a literal/finite number, then how is it possible that the children of the desolate woman be more numerous than those of her who has the husband [fleshly Israel which is in slavery]? (Gal 4:27) 144,000 spiritual Israelites are a lot less than the millions of natural Jews who lived in the first century or any time since then. What explanation do you have for this apparent contradiction?
In the closing words of Peter’s second epistle, he referred to the writings of the apostle Paul and said that some of the things Paul had written were hard to understand. This is one of those things.
Paul quoted from a prophecy and applied it to the first century. However, he did not state that it was the ultimate fulfillment. In verse 21, he said, “For example,” and then explained and said, “These things may be taken as a symbolic drama.” So, the apostle was not saying that his example was the absolute fulfillment.
If we were to go directly to the prophecy in Isaiah that the apostle was alluding to, we get a broader understanding. Here is the passage: “Shout joyfully, you barren woman who has not given birth! Become cheerful and cry out for joy, you who never had birth pains, for the sons of the desolate one are more numerous than the sons of the woman with a husband,” says Jehovah. — Isaiah 54:1
The prophecy does not directly apply to Abraham, Sarah, Hagar, and their sons. Paul, by inspiration, merely borrowed the designation of the “barren woman” and applied it to Sarah, but because the Abrahamic covenant produced the seed by whom all nations would bless themselves —the seed including those in union with Christ —Paul demonstrated how Sarah had more sons than fleshly Israel, which figuratively ceased to exist in the first century when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the temple.
It is worth noting that Jehovah sent an angel to save Hagar and her son when they were sent away. In that way, the symbolic drama played out further, in that God preserved and protected Israel—represented by Hagar’s child in Paul’s illustration—up until the nation produced Christ. At that point, God abandoned them and ceased to be their husbandly owner. As a result, the Jews persecuted the offspring of the free woman, the heavenly Jerusalem.
But the prophecy in Isaiah speaks to the future—to the second coming of Christ. The barren woman represents Christ’s Kingdom that will appear to have come to naught as if giving birth to a stillborn. Isaiah 26:16-18 describes it this way: “O Jehovah, during distress they turned to you; they poured out their prayer in a whisper when you disciplined them. Just as a pregnant woman about to give birth has labor pains and cries out in pain, so we have been because of you, O Jehovah. We became pregnant, we had labor pains, but it is as if we had given birth to wind. We have not brought salvation to the land, and no one is born to inhabit the land.”
It would seem that Paul’s illustration is in itself a prophecy. That is because Hagar symbolized earthly Jerusalem. And according to Jesus, Jerusalem is destined for desolation during the great tribulation. That means that the desolate woman becomes such as a result of the desolation of Jerusalem by a disgusting thing. To be sure, Jerusalem symbolizes Christ’s congregation. However, the desolation of earthly “Jerusalem” is undone by the Jerusalem above coming into existence and the sons of the desolate woman then becoming more numerous. In the prophecy, the sons of the desolate woman and the sons of the woman with a husbandly owner are the same sons.
To confirm that the prophecy has a future fulfillment, we have to read the context. For example, Isaiah 54:6-9 says: “For Jehovah called you as if you were an abandoned wife and grief-stricken, like a wife married in youth and then rejected,” says your God. “For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with great mercy I will gather you back. In a flood of indignation I hid my face from you for a moment, but with everlasting loyal love I will have mercy on you,” says your Repurchaser, Jehovah. “This is like the days of Noah to me. Just as I have sworn that the waters of Noah will no more cover the earth, so I swear that I will no more become indignant toward you or rebuke you.”
Of course, Jehovah became indignant with Jerusalem to the point that he led the Babylonians down from the north, and they obliterated God’s city and enslaved the survivors. And God did indeed repurchase the Jews from captivity. But why would God compare that with the Flood of Noah’s day when God established the so-called rainbow covenant and swore never again to deluge the earth? Obviously, God destroyed Jerusalem again in 70 C.E. when the Romans sacked the rebuilt city.
The Watchtower recognizes that the prophecy applies to Christianity. Jerusalem is an appropriate symbol since Christ’s congregation originated in Jerusalem. When, then, did God become indignant and abandon his wifelike organization? According to the Watchtower, God abandoned Christianity hundreds of years ago, back when Constantine hijacked what passed for Christianity.
But how could that possibly be true? God said in the passage quoted above that he only abandoned her “for a brief moment.” Surely, being the great Timekeeper that he is, Jehovah would not reckon 1,600 years as a brief moment.
Some innovative people may reason that God reckons a thousand years as a day. Of course, God is timeless. Even so, God relates time to humans so we can understand. Besides, the ones whom God abandoned “for a brief moment” and who are on the receiving end of His rebuke will be the ones who experience His mercy and be repurchased. Needless to say, that cannot possibly apply to Christians who lived and died over a thousand years ago.
Since the Watchtower at least recognizes that God’s indignation against his wifelike organization represents anointed Christians, when did God restore her and vow never again to disapprove her? The Watchtower claims that God bestowed upon them His unequivocal approval in 1918. That is why they frequently quote from the 54th chapter of Isaiah, such as this passage: “No weapon formed against you will have any success, and you will condemn any tongue that rises up against you in the judgment.” (17a)
However, this does not apply to the Watchtower now because this is not the judgment. Jesus assured the chosen ones that when they are made to stand before governors and kings, the holy spirit “will give you words and wisdom that all your opposers together will not be able to resist or dispute.”
All prophecy is related and interwoven. When God speaks of His flood of indignation and compares it to the Flood in Noah’s day, we should recognize that God spoke of a metaphoric flood earlier in Isaiah. “So hear the word of Jehovah, you boasters, you rulers of this people in Jerusalem, for you men say: “We have made a covenant with Death, and with the Grave we have made an agreement. When the raging flash flood passes through, it will not reach us, for we have made a lie our refuge and we have hidden ourselves in falsehood.” Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord Jehovah says: “Here I am laying as a foundation in Zion a tested stone, the precious cornerstone of a sure foundation. No one exercising faith will panic. And I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the leveling tool. The hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters will flood out the hiding place. Your covenant with Death will be dissolved, and your agreement with the Grave will not stand. When the raging flash flood passes through, you will be crushed by it. As often as it passes through, it will sweep you away; for it will pass through morning after morning, during the day and during the night. Only terror will make them understand what was heard.” — Isaiah 28:14-19
According to the above passage, the installation of the cornerstone of Zion occurs simultaneously with the flood that sweeps away the boastful rulers of God’s people in Jerusalem. Again, what is the central feature of Christ’s extensive prophecy of the sign of his presence? It is the desolation of Jerusalem.
Having established that the prophecy Paul alluded to will be fulfilled in the future when God’s flood of indignation is expressed toward his organization, the sons of the desolate woman will be born into Christ’s Kingdom through the resurrection and the final sealing. They will be more numerous than the sons of the organizational mother because she and her sons will be no more.
The desolate woman will then become the wedded bride of Christ, and the Kingdom becomes complete with 144,000 living stones. That is what is represented in the following passage of Isaiah: “O afflicted woman, storm-tossed, uncomforted, I am laying your stones with hard mortar and your foundation with sapphires. I will make your battlements of rubies, Your gates of sparkling stones, and all your boundaries of precious stones. And all your sons will be taught by Jehovah, and the peace of your sons will be abundant.” (54:11-13)
