The expression "land of Immanuel" (8:8) indicates that the land of Judah, the Holy Land, is Christ's territory invaded by the conquering army of the king of Assyria. This is the land that Christ will inherit to build up His millennial kingdom with His two elect peoples, the chosen Jews and the chosen believers.
The land of Immanuel has been occupied by invaders for twenty-six centuries. It has been occupied by the Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Medes and the Persians, the Greeks under Alexander the Great, the successors of Alexander, the Romans, and the Moslems. If we are those who know the Bible, we should pray for the current Middle East situation in this way: "Lord Jesus, You are Immanuel. Lord, remember the good land promised by God to His people. That is Your land. O Immanuel, the invaders are filling up Your land. How long, Lord, will You allow this to continue?" I hope that we will begin to pray in this way.
In Isaiah God's dealing with the nations began mainly with Babylon (13:1—14:23). This corresponds to the great human image which the king of Babylon saw in Daniel 2. The king of Babylon was the head of gold. Babylon actually began with Babel in Genesis 11. The words Babel and Babylon both signify confusion brought in by division. The enemies of God's people in the Old Testament began from Babylon. In the New Testament the enemy of God's chosen people, the church, still is called Babylon—Babylon the Great (Rev. 17—18). Babylon was the head taking the lead to invade and devastate the Holy Land. Eventually, Babylon will be the last one to damage God's elect in the New Testament. However, both the religious Babylon (the apostate Roman Church) and material Babylon (the city of Rome) will be destroyed. Even the termination of Babylon is included in the sign of a virgin conceiving a son called Immanuel.
We should not think that the prophecy in Isaiah 7 and 8 merely concerns things that are past. On the contrary, the sign of Immanuel is still being fulfilled today. Where is Immanuel? According to Isaiah 6, Immanuel, full of the splendor of His human virtues, is in the heavens sitting on the throne. The real strategy concerning the Middle East is in His hand, and He knows what the outcome will be.