Isaiah 35:5
Isaiah 35:55Then the eyes of the blind will be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
— "at that time the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped" — is a Watchtower paradise-earth proof-text. The verse is read as describing conditions in the future thousand-year reign of Christ when Jehovah restores perfect health to obedient mankind. The fulfilment is taught as exclusively post-Armageddon.
Jesus himself supplied the inspired interpretation of at (and ). When John the Baptist sent his disciples asking "are you the Coming One?" Jesus answered: "go and report to John what you are hearing and seeing: the blind are receiving sight, and the lame are walking, the lepers are being cleansed and the deaf are hearing." Jesus is quoting — and presenting his present-tense ministry as the fulfilment. The miracles were not a preview; they were the prophecy in action. Pair with (firstfruits of the Spirit guaranteeing the final harvest) and (the Spirit as deposit). Inaugurated eschatology again: the Messianic age has begun in Christ's ministry; the consummation is still ahead.