it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head.” (Ps. 141:5, Authorized Version) Even if the counsel of a brother is hard to take, it will not kill you, either physically or spiritually, but it can prove to be like soothing, refreshing oil. If you take it to heart, you will experience the fulfillment of the proverb: “The one keeping a reproof is the one that is glorified.”​—Prov. 13:18; Heb. 12:11.

The Death of a God

WHAT is a god? The word “god” means a “mighty one.” The term has often been applied to anything worshiped as mighty or able to do good or bad toward its worshipers. The god could be an object, a person, a group of men or an organization.

The god here under discussion is a group or class of men. It is what the Bible calls “the man of lawlessness.” The apostle Paul gave us a description of that god, as follows:

“He is set in opposition [against Almighty God] and lifts himself up over everyone who is called ‘god’ or an object of reverence, so that he sits down in the temple of The God, publicly showing himself to be a god.”​—2 Thess. 2:3, 4.

Who fits this description of the “man of lawlessness”? We might answer by asking: Who have taken to themselves titles such as “Reverend,” “Right Reverend,” “Father,” “Holy Father,” and the like, directly in opposition to Jesus’ words at Matthew 23:8-12? (Compare Job 32:21, 22.) Have not the clergy, both Catholic and Protestant, done so? Do they not lay claim to the “flock of God” as their flock, and in many places strenuously try to prevent others from speaking to the people in their parishes or communities about the Word of God, if what these people say disagrees with the clergy’s teachings? (1 Pet. 5:2) This is exactly the attitude and action that the Jewish religious leaders took toward Jesus’ preaching. (Luke 11:52) Compare also the course of the Jewish leaders of ancient times.​—Ezek. 34:1-6; Mic. 3:5.

The clergy have used their influence to cause governments to ban or severely limit and oppress those trying to teach Bible truth to the people. Many of them have denied the inspiration of the Bible and call it “myth,” “outdated” and inapplicable to modern living, thereby putting their word above God’s and showing themselves to be lawless toward God.

While Christendom’s clergy have sought to elevate themselves to a godlike position, many things that they have done are most ungodly. They have made themselves friends of the world, thereby making themselves enemies of the true God, as James, Jesus’ half brother, wrote. (Jas. 4:4) They have been confidants of and counselors to worldly politicians and men of Big Business, and they have served as the handmaid of war makers and military elements. We find them serving as military chaplains, blessing the armies’ deadly weapons, and praying for victory on both sides of wars between so-called “Christian” nations.