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Revelation 17:14 “These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.”
Revelation 19:16 And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”
And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.” (Revelation 19:16)
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Many interpret this royal designation as proof that Yahushua is deity. They reason that only Yahuwah can hold this rank; therefore, Yahushua must be God. Often, Paul’s comments to Timothy are used as textual support:
1 Timothy 6:13-16 I charge you in the presence of Yahuwah, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Yahushua, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate, 14 that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Yahushua Christ, 15 which He will bring about at the proper time—He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen.
Some claim that the pronoun “He” in verse 15 refers to Yahushua, thus making him “the only sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords.” They conclude that Yahushua is, therefore, Yahuwah. However, Paul is referring to Yahuwah the Father here, not Yahushua. We know this because Paul describes this “He” as someone “whom no man has seen or can see.” Scripture tells us that Yahuwah cannot be seen.2 On the other hand, Yahushua was seen by the multitudes during his earthly ministry. Instead of being the invisible God, Yahushua is the image of the invisible God [Yahuwah].
Some might still conclude, however, that because Yahuwah the Father and Yahushua both bear the same title, it must mean that they are both God. This is a common assumption but a faulty one that does not consider the entire testimony of Scripture. The Bible records other men who were also given this title. Indeed, we would not conclude that they, too, are Yahuwah. For example, King Artaxerxes, a pagan ruler, referred to himself as the king of kings:
Ezra 7:11-13 Now this is the copy of the decree which King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priest, the scribe, learned in the words of the commandments of the LORD and His statutes to Israel: 12 “Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the Yahuwah of heaven, perfect peace. And now 13 I have issued a decree that any of the people of Israel and their priests and the Levites in my kingdom who are willing to go to Jerusalem, may go with you.
“KING OF KINGS” - The Bible records other men who were also given this title.
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While the title may have been a self-appointed one in Artaxerxes case, Yahuwah is the one who bestowed it upon a pagan king named Nebuchadnezzar:
Ezekiel 26:7 For thus says the Lord YAHUWAH, “Behold, I will bring upon Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses, chariots, cavalry and a great army.
If the king of kings is an appellation reserved for deities, how could Yahuwah rightly call a heathen king by this name? It’s because the title is not exclusively used of Yahuwah.Semitic languages often use a noun to modify another noun instead of describing something or someone in superlatives like we do. Here are some examples from Scripture where a noun is used to modify another noun and how we might say it differently today:
“KING OF KINGS” is a Semitic way of saying someone is the greatest king.
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While many more examples could be offered, these help us to see that the phrase king of kings is a Semitic way of saying someone is the greatest king. If the angel in John’s apocalyptic vision wanted John and us to know that Yahushua is God, he could have said Yahushua is the god of gods and the Lord of lords, for this is how Yahuwah is described:
Deuteronomy 10:17 “For tYahuwah your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God who does not show partiality nor take a bribe.
But this is not what the angel wanted to convey. Instead, the angel identified the Lamb as the highest of all the kings, and the greatest of all the lords. Artaxerxes was the greatest king in his day, as was Nebuchadnezzar in his. The context of Revelation, however, explains that Yahushua is the greatest king and lord, not just in a given age, but for all time.
Why does Yahushua bear this exalted title? Scripture never explains or implies that this honor belongs to him because he is God. Nor is he ever called the God of gods like Yahuwah is in the above verse. On the contrary, we’re told that this exalted position was given to Yahushua by Yahuwah:
Ephesians 1:17, 20-23 that the God of our Lord Yahushua, the Father of Glory…which He [Yahuwah] brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
Yahuwah raised Yahushua from the dead and exalted him to the highest position of authority in the coming eternal kingdom, not because he is Yahuwah, but because of his obedience to his God [Yahuwah], as Paul explains in his letter to the Philippians.9
Scripture records that Yahuwah has appointed men to rule as kings under His royal authority. For example, when the Israelites longed for a king like the other nations, they grieved the prophet Samuel. But Yahuwah told him to do as the people had asked, and they had not rejected Samuel but Yahuwah as their king.
Yahuwah was Israel’s ultimate ruler, and those who ruled on His behalf were given the same royal title.
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1 Samuel 8:6-7 But the thing was displeasing in the sight of Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to Yahuwah. 7 Yahuwah said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them.
Yahuwah then told Samuel to anoint Saul to be Israel’s first (human) king. Yahuwah was Israel’s ultimate ruler,10 and those who ruled on His behalf were given the same royal title.
Later, it was prophesied that Yahuwah would exalt a man to be king, not just Israel, but the whole earth. The psalmist said that Yahuwah would install His king in Zion and give him authority over all the nations:
Psalm 2:6-12 “But as for Me, I have installed My King upon Zion, My holy mountain.” 7 “I will surely tell of the decree of Yahuwah: He said to Me, ‘You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. 8 ‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as Your possession. 9 ‘You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.'” 10 Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; take warning, O judges of the earth. 11 Worship Yahuwah with reverence and rejoice with trembling. 12 Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!
Daniel’s prophecy echoes that of the psalmist’s:
Daniel 7:13-14 “I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven one like a Son of Man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him. 14 “And to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations and men of every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away; and His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed.
If Yahushua is God, all creation and all authority would inherently belong to him. But after Yahuwah raised Yahushua from the dead, He exalted him and gave him dominion, glory, and an eternal kingdom. For this reason, Yahushua is the ruler of the kings of the earth:
Revelation 1:5 and from Yahushua Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood.
Despite Yahushua’s exalted position, he is not equal to Yahuwah in essence or nature. He is, however, equal in function or purpose.
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Despite Yahushua’s exalted position, he is not equal to Yahuwah in essence or nature. He is, however, equal in function or purpose. Joseph’s exaltation as Pharaoh’s second in command exemplifies this equality, explained by the principle or law of agency. Joseph’s example provides us with a foreshadowing of the coming Messiah:
Genesis 41:39-41 So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since Yahuwah has informed you of all this, there is no one so discerning and wise as you are. 40 “You shall be over my house, and according to your command all my people shall do homage; only in the throne I will be greater than you.” 41 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.”
The same can be said of Yahushua and his relationship with Yahuwah. Even though Yahuwah gave Yahushua authority and subjected all things to him, nevertheless, as Yahuwah’s agent, Yahushua is subject to Yahuwah.
1 Corinthians 15:24-28 then comes the end, when He [Yahushua] hands over the kingdom to the Yahuwah and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be abolished is death. 27 For HE [Yahuwah] HAS PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS [Yahushua] FEET. But when He says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is evident that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him. 28 When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that Yahuwah may be all in all.
Yahuwah is rightly called the God of gods, the king of kings, and the lord of lords, for He is the highest authority. But as Yahuwah’s agent and His subordinate, Yahushua can also rightly be called king of kings and lord of lords.
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This helps us understand why Yahushua said that the Father was greater:
John 14:28 “You heard that I said to you, ‘I go away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced because I go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.
Yahuwah is rightly called the God of gods, the king of kings, and the lord of lords, for He is the highest authority. But as Yahuwah’s agent and His subordinate, Yahushua can also rightly be called king of kings and lord of lords. For it was Yahuwah who exalted Yahushua to the position of both Lord and Christ (i.e., anointed king)
Acts 2:36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that Yahuwah has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Yahushua whom you crucified.”
For Yahushua to be called the king of kings and the lord of lords is indeed an honor, but it does not mean that he is Yahuwah.
1 Revelation 19:19; 20:1ff.
2 Exodus 33:20; Colossians 1:15; 1 John 4:12.
4 Genesis 9:25.
5 Exodus 26:33.
6 1 Kings 4:32; Song of Solomon 1:1.
7 Ecclesiastes 1:2; 12:8.
8 Deuteronomy 10:17.
9 Philippians 2:5-11.
10 Yahuwah is referred to as Israel’s king. Isaiah 43:15; 44:6, etc.
This is a non-WLC article. Source: https://oneGodworship.com/does-being-king-of-kings-mean-Jesus-is-God/
We have taken out from the original article all pagan names and titles of the Father and Son, and have replaced them with the original given names. Furthermore, we have restored in the Scriptures quoted the names of the Father and Son, as they were originally written by the inspired authors of the Bible. -WLC Team
