See also “Son of Man, the”

This Name is new to mankind, though it was already given to us by Isaiah. This is rather paradoxical because many of us imagine that we know Whom this Name belongs to. Many of us think that we know to Whom It refers.

Therefore the concept in the Name is what is new but not the Name Itself. The general belief is that this Name refers to Jesus and that It is His other Name. This is, however, not so. This Name does not refer to Jesus at all. Jesus is Jesus and He cannot at the same time be Imanuel. This is simply impossible.

The Name Jesus has it own strictly marked meaning just like the Name Imanuel, and it must never be assumed that they refer to the same Person. The meaning of Jesus is Love, whereas that of Imanuel means “God with us”. These are clearly different meanings but Matthew fused the two names together because at that time most people were eagerly awaiting the fulfilment of all the prophecies, hence it was easier to jump to conclusions without giving these matters more thought.

Imanuel means “God with us” because He is the eternal mediator between God and mankind, unlike in the case with Jesus Whose Mission could only be a temporary one. Imanuel dwells among mankind as the eternal link between mankind and the Creator, hence the meaning in the Name.

He is the One that Jesus referred to as the Counsellor Who would dwell and abide with us forever. He is the Spirit of Truth that will guide us into all Truth. Jesus, seeing that His Mission was not going to bear the fruit that it should have promised that He would ask the Father to send another other than Himself to guide us into all truth. This is therefore the new mediator between mankind and God Who would show us all the secrets of Creation.

Therefore, we may have had this Name for some time now but the meaning of It in Its true significance has been lost to mankind until now. It is about time we began to untangle things for ourselves. Imanuel therefore is that Spirit of Truth that Jesus referred to; the Holy Spirit Who would guide us into all Truth. We should therefore be on the alert so as not to miss His time when He comes.