Short answer
No. The Bible gives these same titles to people who were not God. Daniel calls King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon "a king of kings". God (﷾) tells Moses, "I have made thee a god to Pharaoh". A psalm calls the judges it speaks to "gods", then says they "shall die like men". Jesus quoted that psalm about those "unto whom the word of God came". Isaiah says a royal steward will be "a father" to Jerusalem. Sarah called her husband Abraham lord. Christians do not take any of these people to be God. So the same titles cannot prove that Jesus is God. And in Revelation, the book that calls Jesus "King of kings", he still speaks of "my God". Islam's answer is simple: Jesus was a servant and messenger of God (﷾), honoured by Him with authority.
Full explanation
The titles Christians point to
Revelation writes "King of kings, and Lord of lords" on Jesus. The first letter to Timothy gives that same title to God (﷾). Luke calls Jesus Christ the Lord. Isaiah 9:6 names a child "The mighty God, The everlasting Father". Thomas, one of Jesus' twelve close disciples, says to him, "My Lord and my God". Christians hold that titles like these can belong only to God (﷾).
“And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”
“Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;”
“For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.”
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
“And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.”
Men called "king of kings"
The prophet Daniel says it to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. He adds that God (﷾) gave him his kingdom. The prophet Ezekiel calls Nebuchadnezzar a king of kings again. The Persian ruler Artaxerxes uses the title of himself in a letter kept in the book of Ezra.
“Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.”
“For thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will bring upon Tyrus Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, a king of kings, from the north, with horses, and with chariots, and with horsemen, and companies, and much people.”
“Artaxerxes, king of kings, unto Ezra the priest, a scribe of the law of the God of heaven, perfect peace, and at such a time.”
"God" and "gods" for men
God (﷾) tells Moses that he will be "instead of God" to his brother Aaron, and "a god to Pharaoh". Psalm 82 is a song in the Bible's book of Psalms. It calls the judges it speaks to gods and children of the Most High. In the next breath it says they will die like men. Jesus was accused of blasphemy (insulting God (﷾)). He answered with this very psalm, and read it of those "unto whom the word of God came".
“And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God.”
“And the Lord said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.”
“A Psalm of Asaph. God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods.”
“I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.”
“But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes.”
“Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?”
"Lord" and "father" for men
"Lord" translates the Greek word kyrios and the Hebrew word adon. Both run from "sir" and "master" all the way to God (﷾). Peter says Sarah called her husband Abraham lord. Isaiah says the steward Eliakim, a palace official, will be a father to Jerusalem. Joseph says God (﷾) made him a father to Pharaoh.
“Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement.”
“And I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand: and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah.”
“So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God: and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.”
| Title | Also given in the Bible to |
|---|---|
| King of kings | Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon: “Thou, O king, art a king of kings”. Artaxerxes of Persia uses it of himself. |
| god | Moses: “I have made thee a god to Pharaoh”. |
| gods | The judges a psalm speaks to: “Ye are gods”, who “shall die like men”. |
| lord | Abraham: his wife Sarah called him lord. |
| father | The royal steward Eliakim, “a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem”, and Joseph, “a father to Pharaoh”. |
None of these men was God. And in Revelation, which calls Jesus “King of kings”, he still speaks of “my God”.
Titles given to Jesus, and a God above him
Peter says God (﷾) made Jesus Lord and Christ (the Messiah). So the title was given to him. In Revelation Jesus says "my God" four times in one verse. Paul, a Christian missionary of the first century, keeps one God (﷾), the Father, apart from one Lord, Jesus. In these passages, where the writers set God (﷾) and Jesus side by side, God (﷾) is the one above. The Qur'an calls Jesus a servant. It also warns against taking Christ as Lord beside Allah (﷾).
“Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
“Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.”
“But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.”
“He was no more than a servant: We granted Our favour to him, and We made him an example to the Children of Israel.”
“They take their priests and their anchorites to be their lords in derogation of Allah, and (they take as their Lord) Christ the son of Mary; yet they were commanded to worship but One Allah: there is no god but He. Praise and glory to Him: (Far is He) from having the partners they associate (with Him).”
Verse by verse
Revelation 19:16 — Revelation of John, chapter 19, verse 16
“And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”
Cited for
"King of kings, and Lord of lords" is God's own title in 1 Timothy 6:15, so giving it to Jesus makes him God.
The response
The Bible also calls Nebuchadnezzar and Artaxerxes king of kings. The King of kings in 1 Timothy is the one "who only hath immortality", "whom no man hath seen, nor can see". That cannot describe one whom crowds saw and touched. Nor does it fit one who, Christians say, died on a cross. In Revelation itself, Jesus says "my God".
Where it lands — The Bible gives the title to men. And 1 Timothy's King of kings is one no one has seen. So the title does not show that Jesus is God.
John 20:28 — Gospel of John, chapter 20, verse 28
“And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God.”
Cited for
Thomas addresses Jesus as "my God", and Jesus accepts it.
The response
In the same chapter Jesus sends word that he is going up "to my God, and your God". Earlier in John, Jesus defended himself by saying that scripture calls men gods. On his own terms, the word "god" in scripture does not make a man God. John then says he wrote this so readers would believe that Jesus is "the Christ, the Son of God".
Where it lands — The Jesus of John's Gospel has a God and explains the word "god" as a title scripture gives to men.
Isaiah 9:6 — Nevi'im, Yeshayahu, chapter 9, verse 6
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.”
Cited for
Isaiah 9:6 calls the child "The mighty God, The everlasting Father", so the Messiah is God.
The response
The verse says "his name shall be called", so it gives a name. Elijah's name, for example, means "my God is Yahweh". The Jewish Publication Society translation, a standard Jewish English Bible, does not turn the titles into divine names. It leaves them untranslated, as one Hebrew name. The next verse says the zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this. And "father" is Isaiah's word for the steward Eliakim.
Where it lands — The verse gives the child a name that honours God (﷾). It does not say the child is God.
Perspectives
Mainstream Christian
The New Testament gives Jesus titles that the Bible also uses for God, such as "King of kings, and Lord of lords" (1 Timothy 6:15). Taken together they show he shares God's nature.
Revelation gives Jesus the title "King of kings, and Lord of lords". First Timothy gives this title to God, so, they say, Jesus shares God's rank.
Rebuttal
Revelation does give Jesus this title. But the Bible also gives it to the kings Nebuchadnezzar and Artaxerxes. The King of kings in 1 Timothy is the one no man has seen, and in Revelation Jesus speaks of "my God".
Thomas calls Jesus "My Lord and my God", and Jesus does not correct him.
Rebuttal
Thomas does say these words, and Jesus lets them stand. But in the same chapter Jesus speaks of "my God, and your God". And John ends that scene saying he wrote so readers believe Jesus is "the Christ, the Son of God".
Isaiah 9:6 names the promised child "The mighty God, The everlasting Father".
Rebuttal
The verse says "his name shall be called", and a name can honour God (﷾) without being God, as Elijah's name means "my God is Yahweh". The next verse says the zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this. And Isaiah calls the steward Eliakim "a father" too.
The Islamic perspective
The Bible gives every one of these titles to men as honours. Jesus was a servant and messenger of God (﷾) who was given authority, and he himself had a God.
The Bible calls Nebuchadnezzar and Artaxerxes "king of kings".
The Bible calls Moses a god to Pharaoh. A psalm that Jesus applied to those who received God's (﷾) word calls them gods who will die like men.
Jesus answered a charge of blasphemy by pointing out that scripture calls men gods.
Paul says there are many so-called gods and lords, yet only one God (﷾), the Father.
"Lord" and "father" are used in the Bible for husbands, stewards and ministers.
Peter says God (﷾) made Jesus Lord and Christ, so the title was given to him.
In the same book that calls him King of kings, Jesus speaks of "my God".
The Qur'an teaches that Jesus was a servant of Allah (﷾) and not a Lord to be taken beside Him.