According to Jehovah’s Witnesses what does the name Immanuel mean in light of their belief that Jesus is a created being and not God?

Question

This article goes on to say,

Without accurate knowledge, we may become ensnared by false teachings promoted by God's opposer, Satan the Devil. Therefore, if a doctrine contradicts God's Word, if it is a lie, then believing it and teaching it discredits Jehovah and brings us into opposition to him. So we need to examine the Scriptures carefully to distinguish truth from falsehood.

They quote Acts 17:11.

Now these were more noble minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily, to see whether these things are true.

The Apostle Paul is telling us to check out what people say as it relates to the Bible to see if what they are saying conforms to what the Scriptures say and teach. (Acts 17:11).

Again, I could not agree more.

The Jehovah Witnesses teach in their NWT of the Bible that Jesus Christ is "a god" at John 1:1.

At Isaiah 7:14 is a prophecy

 Therefore, Jehovah himself will give you a sign: Look! The young woman* will become pregnant and will give birth to a son,+ and she will name him Im·manʹu·el

(Immanuel meaning literally "God" or "Jehovah with us." since Jehovah is the only God).

The Apostle Matthew at Matthew 1:23 quotes Isaiah 7:14,

 “Look! The virgin will become pregnant and will give birth to a son, and they will name him Im·manʹu·el,”+ which means, when translated, “With Us Is God.”+

Isaiah also says at Isaiah 43:10-11,

"You are My witnesses, declares the Lord, And my servant whom I have chosen, In order that you may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He, Before Me there was no God formed, And there will be none after Me. vs11, "I, even I, am the Lord; and there is no savior besides Me."

I believe since there is no other God except for Jehovah, which even the Jehovah Witnesses attest too, that Jesus Christ and God the Father are one and the same being who are equal in nature/essence, power and eternal yet distinct in persons.

Then there is Isaiah 9:6

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace."

The Son, Jesus Christ in this verse is identified as "Mighty God."

Isaiah 10:21 says,

Only a remnant will return,

The remnant of Jacob, to the Mighty God.+

Also Jeremiah 32:18.

O great and mighty God, The Lord of hosts is His name."

Obviously there cannot be two mighty Gods because for the Witnesses there is only one true God as Isaiah 45:22 and of course John 17:3 inform us.

Which viewpoint of "ACCURATE" knowledge of God and His Son does not contradict God's word?

Is it Matthew 1:23 which says “God with us?"

Or is it John 1:1 in the NWT that teaches "a god" is with us in the form of a created creature known as Jesus Christ and His role as Michael the arc-angel?

Answer 1

The name Im·manʹu·el means "With Us Is God", and Jehovahs Witneses (JWs) believe that is the translation of that name it-1 pp. 1187-1189.

Not necessarily everyone with that name is a god, but we also consider the meaning of the name to be true in the case of Jesus. Jesus is a God, but we do not consider him to be equal or the same as Jehovah or Yahweh. (To avoid any confusion about where Lord refers to Jesus and where it refers to Jehovah i will use the ASV here.)

Isaiah 43:10-11 10 Ye are my witnesses, saith Jehovah, and my servant whom I have chosen; that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. 11I, even I, am Jehovah; and besides me there is no saviour. (ASV)

We believe that the titles mentioned in Isaiah 9:6: “His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace" all apply to Jesus. Note that it was not written almighty God, and note that a prince is typically defined as a son of the king. The "mighty" god in Isaiah 9:6 is a translation of 'El Gib·bohr' not of 'El Shad·dai' (Almighty). We there fore do not consider the word mighty, or the combination 'mighty god' to have the necessity to be uniquely used for Jehovah God, although it can also be used for Jehovah God. More information about what JW's believe about the difference between mighty and Almighty can be read in it-1 pp. 77-79

Answer 2

Although "Insight on the Scriptures" was published in 1988, and Jehovah's Witnesses [JWs] are encouraged to use Watchtower Society literature produced after 2000, it's good to see that a JW here uses that 1988 volume. Yes, it replaced the 1971 "Aid to Bible Understanding" but I have both volumes and there is not even a word of difference between the two (under the heading 'Immanuel'). Most of the 11 paragraphs deal with identifying characters in the Hebrew scriptures who might have been named Immanuel.

The Insight book says:

"Immanuel is a name-title applied to Christ the Messiah." https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1200002152?q=immanuel&p=par p.1187

A very subtle result of the Insight article is that the meaning "God is with us" allows the JW mind-set to keep away from the idea of God in Christ. This is just a title (is the inference) that indicates a second-person abstraction, an association of the idea of God being with his people through Christ representing him. Whereas, if the name means that the person bearing that name is God, then Matthew 1:23 is effectively calling Christ 'God'.

That is why the Insight book is careful to state:

"The identity of Jesus Christ as Immanuel did not mean he was the incarnation of God, 'God in the flesh,' which proponents of the Trinity teaching claim is implied by the meaning of Immanuel..." (ibid p.1188)

Ah, but here a subtle detail is slipped in. Instead of saying trinitarians take the meaning of Immanuel to be 'God with us', (as they do), the JW meaning is inserted instead - 'With us is God' - which is not how trinitarians put it.