13. What did Paul say about the free Jerusalem, and in freedom from what should her “children” stand fast?

¹³ Paul contrasted enslaved earthly Jerusalem with “Jerusalem above,” which is “free.” Quoting from Isaiah 54:1-8, he wrote:

“But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. For it is written: ‘Be glad, you barren woman who does not give birth; break out and cry aloud, you woman who does not have childbirth pains; for the children of the desolate woman are more numerous than those of her who has the husband.’ Now we, brothers, are children belonging to the promise the same as Isaac was.

15. For how long was “Jerusalem above” childless, and when did her offspring begin to become numerous?

¹⁵ “Jerusalem above” was “desolate,” childless as it were, much longer than Sarah had been. Actually, “Jerusalem above” was in that state from 1943 B.C.E., when the promise to Abraham went into effect, until Jesus was baptized in 29 C.E. It was then that Jesus was begotten by the spirit of the Greater Abraham, Jehovah, and was anointed with His spirit to be the Christ or Anointed One, the Messiah. But “Jerusalem above” was to have more than one spiritual child. So at Pentecost of 33 C.E., after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension to heaven, about 120 of his faithful disciples were begotten by the spirit of the Greater Abraham. They were then anointed with that spirit to become the spiritual brothers of the Greater Isaac, Jesus Christ. Later that day about 3,000 more Jews got baptized as Jesus’ disciples and were anointed with the holy spirit. (Acts 2:1-42) Thus on that day “Jerusalem above” became “mother” to many children.

16. What is the identity of “Jerusalem above”?

¹⁶ The apostle Paul reveals that the woman addressed at Isaiah 54:1-8 is “the Jerusalem above.” Jehovah God is her “husbandly owner,” as well as her Grand Maker. Figuratively speaking, she is his “woman,” his “wife,” or wifelike organization in heaven above. Like a husband, he is the One who makes her fruitful so as to produce the true “seed” promised in Abraham’s day.​—Galatians 3:16, 26-29.

17. How did “Jerusalem above” become the “mother” of the primary “seed” of the Greater Abraham?

¹⁷ To become the primary “seed” of the Greater Abraham, the only-begotten Son of God had emerged from Jehovah’s wifelike celestial organization. Thus she became like a “mother” to God’s Son. Jesus Christ was not the figurative son of the earthly Jerusalem of his days on earth, for that city then was in bondage, or slavery, with her “children,” and Jesus never was enslaved. (Galatians 4:25) Earthly Jerusalem was the “mother” of those natural Jews who rejected Jesus Christ as the promised “seed” not only of the patriarch Abraham but also of the Greater Abraham, Jehovah God.​—Matthew 23:37-39.