21. Regarding the first-century Christian congregation, what events may be viewed as a fulfillment of certain features of Isaiah’s prophecy?

²¹ When writing to the members of spiritual Israel, the apostle Paul referred to the words of Isaiah 35:3 by saying: “Straighten up the hands that hang down and the enfeebled knees.” (Hebrews 12:12) Evidently, then, in the first century C.E., there was a fulfillment of the words of Isaiah chapter 35.

More important, righthearted ones escaped from false religion and came to enjoy a spiritual paradise within the Christian congregation. (Isaiah 52:11; 2 Corinthians 6:17) As in the case of the Jews returning from Babylon, these escapees found that a positive, courageous spirit was essential.​—Romans 12:11.