Immanuel (Matt 1:23)
Immanuel is a Hebrew word meaning “God is with us.” It was used in the Book of Isaiah as a prophetic sign that God would protect the House of Israel. Isaiah 7:14 & 2 Nephi 17:14 — “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” It only appears three times in the bible (Isaiah 7:14, 8:8 and Matthew 1:23. It is alluded to in Isaiah 8:10. In Greek, the word is transliterated (to spell something with a different alphabet) as “Emmanuel.”
Judge (Acts 10:42)
A judge investigates and evaluates conduct, measuring human acts against applicable laws. All men will ultimately be judged by God (2 Nep. 9:15), the Father of all spirits, but the Apostle John indicated this judgement has been given to Christ (John 5:22). Christ will, in turn, call upon others to assist in the Judgement (twelve apostles-Matt 19:28; twelve disciples – Mormon 3:18-19).
Men will be judged out of records kept on earth and the “book of life” which is kept in heaven (D&C 128:6-8). We will be judged by a record we keep of ourselves (Rom. 2:15) and by our thoughts, words and actions (Alma 12:14, Matt. 12:36-37, Alma 41:2-7) and our hearts (1 Sam. 16:7) and our desires (D&C 137:9). Through faithful discipleship, our sins will be forgiven and erased so we will not be held accountable for those articular acts (Mosiah 5:2).
Men are judged and assigned a place in the various kingdoms which God has prepared for them (D&C 88:20-32).
King of Kings (1 Tim. 6:15)
King of Kings refers to a monarch having other monarchs under him. He is considered to be the most important person in the entire kingdom.
Jesus Christ is both the creator (John 1:3) and ruler of this earth and the rightful heir to all governmental powers associated with it. In the 6,000 years of the earth’s existence (when Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden), many rulers have reigned over various kingdoms. At the current time, his kingdom is spiritual and somewhat invisible, but during the millennium it will come to full fruition and break down all other kingdoms, organizations and structures (Dan. 2:44).
Christ’s delegated priesthood power to his servants throughout the earth’s history will also be returned to him just prior to his second coming in a valley in Missouri called Adam-ondi-Ahman (Bruce R McConkie, The Millennial Messiah, pp 578-88)
In Judaism, Melech Malchei HaMelachim (“the King of Kings of Kings”) came to be used as a name of God. “King of Kings” (βασιλεὺς τῶν βασιλευόντων) is also used in reference to Jesus Christ several times in the Bible (First Epistle to Timothy and twice in the Book of Revelation).
The first king in the bible was Saul (1050-1000 BCE) who was the first king of Israel. He was succeeded by his youngest son, Ishbaal who was killed, thus opening the way for David to be crowned King by decree of the Prophet Samuel. David is known as the second king of Israel, and his son, Solomon the third before the kingdom was split between the northern and southern kingdoms.
King of the Jews (Mark 15:12, 26)
For generations, the Jews anticipated the arrival of their Messiah to throw down the kingdoms that afflicted them. It had been 1700 years since Judah was established as the Lion of the Lord, and 1000 years since David and Solomon established the United Kingdom of Israel. But except for very short periods, the Jews were captured, tortured, and trodden down by other nations. The Jews envisioned a political ruler not a spiritual leader (John 18:36) as Christ was when he came and thus, they rejected him as a nation. Interestingly, most who referred to him as “King of the Jews” were non-Jewish (John 19:2-3).
He will become “King of the Jews” at his second coming (Acts 1:11) when he saves the Jewish nation from the destruction of Armageddon where he saves the city and destroys the opposing armies. (D&C 45:48, 51)
It’s interesting that Judaism split into two major branches at the time of the destruction of the 2nd temple around 70 AD. Once branch believed the Messiah had come and became known as Christians. The other branch developed into Rabinic Judaism which includes most Jews today. They saw Christ as part of a long line of individuals who claimed to be the Messiah, but weren’t. This continues to be the dominant Jewish belief today.
Lamb of God (John 1:29)
A sacrificial lamb is a metaphorical reference to a person or animal sacrificed for the common good. The term is derived from the traditions of Abrahamic religion where a lamb is a highly valued possession. The person making the sacrifice hopes to make or mend a relationship with God. The symbolism is actually two-part: the person making the offer has a hope in Christ of a universal resurrection and a conditional forgiveness of sins; and the person being offered (Christ) is offering himself to be an unblemished substitute for men’s sins.
By dying on the cross, Christ was thus sacrificing his own blood for the forgiveness of our sins. … Jesus represents the sacrificial lamb for mankind, as the Son of God.
Adam and Eve, upon leaving the Garden of Eden, built an altar and made sacrifices to God. (Moses 5:4-16, 58-59). One of the first recorded sacrifices that was done by a man to God was the account of Abel and Cain making sacrifices where Abel was murdered by his brother for making a sacrifice that was pleasing to God (Moses 5:29-41)
Like in Abraham’s case, God indeed proceeded to provide us with His own Son’s blood through Jesus Christ’s death, to make atonement for our sins. The promise to mankind is “These are they who are just men made perfect through Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, who wrought out this perfect atonement through the shedding of his own blood.” (D&C 76:69)
The sacrifice by the shedding of blood has been replaced by the sacrament. (3 Nephi 9:19-20)
