The Prophecy — Emmanuel Will Deliver Jerusalem from an Assyrian Invasion

Below are the prophesies about Emmanuel especially in connection to Assyria and Jerusalem.

Emmanuel Will Deliver Jerusalem from the Assyrian Invasion

Because this people has rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah and rejoices over Rezin and the son of Remaliah, ₇therefore Adonai is about to bring against them the mighty floodwaters of the River—the king of Assyria with all his pomp. It will overflow all its channels, run over all its banks ₈and sweep on into Judah, swirling over it, passing through it and reaching up to the neck. Its outspread wings will cover the breadth of your land, O Immanuel!”
₉Raise the war cry, you nations, and be shattered! Listen, all you distant lands. Prepare for battle, and be shattered! Prepare for battle, and be shattered! ₁₀Devise your strategy, but it will be thwarted; propose your plan, but it will not stand, for God is with us. [Isa 8:7-8,9-10]

Important Points

1. The prophecy is directed to Immanuel.
2. The prophecy states that the King of Assyria would invade the land of Judah and almost destroy it, like a flooding river that almost drowns a man but then stops. The army of the king of Assyria will reach to the neck, coming close to submerging and drowning the head, that is Jerusalem, but it will not succeed.
3. Knowing that Immanuel means “God with us”, the last verse of this prophecy as quoted above shows that the invasion of the land of Judah will fail because of Immanuel
   In other words, Emmanuel will deliver Jerusalem

The Assyrian Army Will Be Destroyed With A Disease

Woe to the Assyrian, the rod of my anger, in whose hand is the club of my wrath! ₆I send him against a godless nation… to seize loot and snatch plunder, and to trample them down like mud in the streets. ₇But this is not what he intends…
₁₆Therefore, Adonai, Yahweh of Hosts, will send a wasting disease upon his sturdy warriors; under his pomp a fire will be kindled like a blazing flame. ₁₇The Light of Israel will become a fire, their Holy One a flame; in a single day it will burn and consume his thorns and his briers. ₁₈The splendor of his forests and fertile fields it will completely destroy, as when a sick man wastes away. ₁₉And the remaining trees of his forests will be so few that a child could write them down. [Isa 10:16-19]

Important Points

1. This prophecy plainly and figuratively states the manner in which the Assyrian army would be destroyed
2. Since Immanuel is the One who deliverers Jerusalem from the Assyrian invasion in the prophecy quoted before this, it means that Immanuel is the One this prophecy refers to as
1. Adonai, Yahweh of Hosts
2. The Light of Israel,
3. Israel’s Holy One

The Fulfillment — The Angel of Yahweh Delivers Jerusalem from Assyria

The above prophecies were fulfilled in the lifetime of the prophet Isaiah during the reign of king Hezekiah. The fulfillment of the prophecy fully aligns with the prophecy itself. An obvious difference being that the Immanuel of this prophecy is not human.

The Angel of Yahweh delivers Jerusalem from the Assyrian Army

I will defend this city and save it, for my sake and for the sake of David my servant!”₃₆Then the Angel of Yahweh went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies! ₃₇So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there. [Isa 37:35-36]

Important Points

1. Just as prophesied, the Assyrian invaded the land of Judah and came as far as Jerusalem.
2. Just as prophesied, the invading Assyrian army was destroyed with a wasting disease and the Assyrian king had to break camp
3. The Immanuel who delivers Jerusalem from the Assyrian army is the Angel of Yahweh

Deduction — The Angel of Yahweh is the Prophesied Emmanuel

The fulfilment of the prophecy recorded by Isaiah shows the Angel of Yahweh to be the prophesied Immanuel. The only difference between this Immanuel and the prophesied Immanuel is that the Angel of Yahweh was not conceived or born of a woman, at least not at this point in time.

Now, that the Angel of Yahweh is Immanuel perfectly agrees with Scriptures preceding Isaiah. As a matter of fact, the only “God with us” that Israel ever knew was the Angel of Yahweh.

1. Jacob spoke of him as the God of his fathers Abraham and Isaac and the one who had delivered him from all troubles [Gen 48:15-16].
2. Moses recognized the Angel of Yahweh whom Yahweh was sending with him and Israel as God with them [Exo 33:12-17; 23:20-23]

Other aspects of Isaiah’s prophecy, in connection to this prophecy, confirm this conclusion that the Angel of Yahweh is the prophesied Immanuel.

The Light and Holy One of Israel

The second prophecy quoted above calls Emmanuel “the Light of Israel”.

This is quite instructive because Isaiah before this described the Messiah who would inherit the Throne of David as “a great light”.

Since this prophecy was fulfilled by the Angel of Yahweh, it means that the Angel of Yahweh is “Adonai, Yahweh of Hosts, the Light of Israel and Israel’s Holy One.”

That Isaiah is speaking of Immanuel is also confirmed by his calling the Messiah “Mighty God” [Isa 9:6] and “a great light” [Isa 9:2,6-7].

If the Messiah is “Mighty God” and he is given to ‘us’, then he is “God with us”—Immanuel. Now, not only does Isaiah indicate that he is Immanuel by calling him “Mighty God”, but he also calls him “a great light” and “a light“ [Isa 9:2,6-7]. If the Messiah is a Great Light and he is Israel’s King, then he is the Light of Israel. Therefore, when Isaiah goes on to prophesy that they will be delivered from the Assyrian army by “the Light of Israel”, he is in fact saying that they will be delivered by Immanuel the Messiah.

Now, if Immanuel is who delivers his people is the Light of Israel, then he is Israel’s Holy One and Adonai, Yahweh of Hosts. Now, these titles are in fact titles true of the Angel of Yahweh and belonging to him, therefore, these titles confirm that the prophesied Immanuel is indeed the Angel of Yahweh.

• Adonai, Yahweh of Hosts
  We can see from Hosea, where he identifies the man who wrestled with Jacob as an angel that the Angel of Yahweh is “Yahweh Elohim of Hosts” [Hos 12:2-5].

• Israel’s Holy One
  Angels are generally holy ones [Dan 4:8-9,13,17] and since God appointed different angels over the nations, every nation has her own holy one [Deut 32:8-9; Gen 11:6-7; Dan 10:13,20].
  Therefore, since the Angel of Yahweh is an Angel of God, he is a holy one and since he is the Captain or Prince of Israel, he is therefore Israel’s Holy One [Exo 23:20-23; 33:10-17; Jos 5:14; Dan 8:11]. Therefore, when Isaiah speaks of Immanuel or the Messiah as Israel’s holy one, he is saying that he is the Angel of Yahweh.

• The Light of Israel

Addressing the Non-Humanity of the Immanuel of King Hezekiah’s Day

As far as can be plainly deduced from Isaiah’s prophecy, the Angel of Yahweh is the prophesied Immanuel. A reason one may reject this conclusion, however, is that he was not a human being at the time. Nevertheless, to be “God with Us” in the literal sense would require that he was already God at conception and birth. Therefore, since the Angel of Yahweh is the only “God with us” of Israel, the One to be born to the Virgin can only be “God with Us” if he was the Angel of Yahweh.