Muhammad Again Proves Jesus is God! Pt. 2

This is a continuation from the previous post: Muhammad Again Proves Jesus is God!

Muhammad is reported to have said that Allah hates it when a man calls himself the king of kings, since this is the vilest and most despicable statement that can be made in his sight. That is because Allah alone is king:

78 Good Manners and Form (Al-Adab)

(114) Chapter: The name which is most disliked by Allah.

Narrated Abu Huraira:

Allah's Messenger said, "The most awful name in Allah's sight on the Day of Resurrection, will be (that of) a man calling himself Malik Al-Amlak (the king of kings).

Reference: Sahih al-Bukhari 6205

In-book reference: Book 78, Hadith 229

USC-MSA web (English) reference: Vol. 8, Book 73, Hadith 224 (Sunna.com: https://sunnah.com/bukhari:6205)

38 The Book of Manners and Etiquette

(4) Chapter: The Prohibition Of The Names Malik Al-Amlak Or Malik Al-Muluk "King Of Kings"

Abu Huraira reported from Allah's Messenger so many ahadith and one of them was this that Allah's Messenger said: The most wretched person in the sight of Allah on the Day of Resurrection and the worst person and target of His wrath would be the person who is called Malik al-Amlak (the King of Kings) for there is no king but Allah.

Reference: Sahih Muslim 2143b

In-book reference: Book 38, Hadith 26

 USC-MSA web (English) reference: Book 25, Hadith 5339 (Sunnah.com: https://sunnah.com/muslim:2143b)

43 Chapters on Manners

(65) Chapter: What Has Been Related About What Names Are Disliked

Narrated Al-A'raj: that Abu Hurairah conveyed to him that the Prophet said: "The most despicable (Akhna) name to Allah on the Day of Judgement is that of a man named King of Kings. (Malikil-Amlak)."

Grade: Sahih (Darussalam)

Reference: Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2837

In-book reference: Book 43, Hadith 111

English translation: Vol. 5, Book 41, Hadith 2837 (Sunnah.com: https://sunnah.com/tirmidhi:2837)

43 General Behavior (Kitab Al-Adab)

(70) Chapter: Changing bad names

Abu Hurairah reported the prophet as saying:

The vilest names in Allah’s sight on the Day of resurrection will be that of a man called Malik al-Amlak. Abu Dawud said: This tradition has also been transmitted by Shu'aib b. Abi Hamzah from Abi al-Zinad through different chain of narrators. This version has the words "akhna' ismin" (most obscene name) instead of "akhna ismin" (the vilest name).

Grade:  Sahih (Al-Albani)

Reference: Sunan Abi Dawud 4961

In-book reference: Book 43, Hadith 189

English translation: Book 42, Hadith 4943 (Sunnah.com: https://sunnah.com/abudawud:4961)

Interestingly, the Hebrew Bible identifies YHWH as the Lord of lords and kings, which is simply another way of saying that he is the King of kings:   

“For Yahweh your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the fearsome God who does not show partiality nor take a bribe.” Deuteronomy 10:17

“Give thanks to the Lord of lords, For His lovingkindness endures forever.” Psalm 136:3  

“The king answered Daniel and said, ‘Truly your God is a God of gods and a Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries since you have been able to reveal this mystery.’” Daniel 2:47

Remarkably, the NT describes the risen Jesus as the King of kings and Lord of lords who reigns in/from heaven as the one supreme Sovereign over all:

“that you keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 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, who alone has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal might! Amen.” 1 Timothy 6:14-16  

“and from Jesus 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—and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the might forever and ever. Amen.” Revelation 1:5-6

“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 elect and faithful.” Revelation 17:14

“Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sits on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; having a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself, and being clothed with a garment dipped in blood, His name is also called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. And from His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the wrath of the rage of God, the Almighty. And He has on His garment and on His thigh a name written, ‘KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.’” Revelation 19:11-16  

These statements from Revelation are all the more significant since they were revealed by Jesus to John either directly or through Christ’s angel:

“And he said to me, ‘These words are faithful and true’; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show to His slaves the things which must soon take place. ‘And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.’... ‘I, Jesus, sent My angel to bear witness to you of these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.’... He who bears witness to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming quickly.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” Revelation 22:6-7, 16, 20  

Note that the angel is said to belong to the Lord God of the spirits of the prophets and to Christ, which makes it is hard to deny that John is actually identifying Jesus as the Lord God.

The words that the Apostle hears immediately after mentioning the angel that the Lord God sent makes this identification stronger. The figure who says that he is coming quickly is expressly said to be the Lord Jesus, which points to Christ being none other than the Lord and the God of the spirits of the prophets.  

This is made clearer by what John wrote earlier:

“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His slaves the things which must soon happen; and He indicated this by sending it through His angel to His slave John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the witness of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy and keep the things which are written in it, for the time is near...

“I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the witness of Jesus. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, saying, ‘Write in a scroll what you see, and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.’

“Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands; and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash. And His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters, and having in His right hand seven stars, and a sharp two-edged sword which comes out of His mouth, and His face was like the sun shining in its power.

“And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, ‘Do not fear; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forever and ever, and I have the keys of death and of Hades. Therefore write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after these things.’” Revelation 1:1-3, 9-19

John turns to see the voice speaking to him and beholds Jesus manifesting the various OT appearances of God Almighty.  

For instance, Jesus is described as being both the Ancient of Days and the Son of Man that Daniel beheld:

“I kept looking Until thrones were set up, And the Ancient of Days was seated; His clothing was like white snow And the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was ablaze with fire, Its wheels were a burning fire. A river of fire was flowing And coming out from before Him; Thousands upon thousands were attending Him, And myriads upon myriads were standing before Him; The court sat, And the books were opened.” Daniel 7:9-10

“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 came near before Him. 14 And to Him was given dominion, Glory, and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations, and men of every tongue Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not be taken away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.” Daniel 7:13-14

Christ also takes the appearance of the Divine Being seen by the same prophet:

“I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, there was a certain man dressed in linen, whose loins were girded with a belt of pure fine gold of Uphaz. His body also was like beryl, his face had the appearance of lightning, his eyes were like flaming torches, his arms and feet like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a multitude.” Daniel 10:5-6

Jesus further looks and sounds like the Almighty God whom Ezekiel saw:

“I also heard the sound of their wings like the sound of many waters as they went, like the sound of the Almighty, a sound of tumult like the sound of an army camp; whenever they stood still, they dropped their wings. And there came a sound from above the expanse that was over their heads; whenever they stood still, they dropped their wings. Now above the expanse that was over their heads there was something in the likeness of a throne, like sapphire stone in appearance; and upon the likeness of the throne, high up, was the likeness of one with the appearance of a man. Then I saw from the appearance of His loins and upward something like the gleam of glowing metal with the appearance of fire all around within it, and from the appearance of His loins and downward I saw something with the appearance of fire; and there was a radiance all around Him. As the appearance of the rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the radiance all around. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of Yahweh. And I saw this, and I fell on my face and heard a sound of a voice speaking.” Ezekiel 1:24-28

The risen Jesus even claims to be the First and the Last, both in this particular vision and elsewhere:

“And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: This is what the first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says:” Revelation 2:8  

“Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” Revelation 22:12-13

This is a uniquely divine title, which the Hebrew Bible ascribes only to YHWH,

“Thus says Yahweh, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, Yahweh of hosts: ‘I am the first, and I am the last, And there is no God besides Me.’” Isaiah 44:6

“Hear Me, O Jacob, even Israel whom I called; I am He, I am the first, I am also the last.” Isaiah 48:12

And which the Quran attributes to Muhammad’s deity:

He is the First and the Last and the Ascendant (over all) and the Knower of hidden things, and He is Cognizant of all things. S. 57:3 Shakir

Hence, Jesus has not only described himself as the King of kings and Lord of lords, he has also taken to himself other unique names/titles of God, along with the various appearances of YHWH God Almighty. This is because the risen Son of God is no mere creature, but is YHWH God Almighty who became a human being.

In other words, Jesus Christ happens to be the Lord God of the spirits of the prophets who sent his angel to testify to his beloved Apostle John.

Scriptural references taken from the Legacy Standard Bible (LSB).