What is the proper role of civil government according to Scripture? Do rulers possess unlimited authority, or are they accountable to a higher law? And what duty do Christians owe when governments abandon justice and become instruments of tyranny?

First published in 1663, Mene Tekel: The Downfall of Tyranny offers one of the most powerful biblical defenses of liberty ever written. Drawing from the Law of God and right reason, the anonymous author demonstrates that government exists for two great purposes: the glory of God and the good of the people. Magistrates are not masters, but servants—called to execute justice, protect the innocent, and uphold righteousness.

The work boldly affirms that the right of establishing government resides with the people, that rulers must meet moral and spiritual qualifications, and that no claim of conquest, hereditary privilege, or arbitrary power can supersede the law of God. Far from promoting anarchy, Mene Tekel presents a vision of ordered liberty in which both rulers and citizens are equally subject to divine authority.

Taking its title from the judgment pronounced against Babylon in Daniel chapter five, this timeless treatise reminds every generation that tyrants are weighed in the balances of heaven and that no kingdom built upon injustice can endure.

Read by those whose ideas helped shape the American Founding, Mene Tekel belongs to a forgotten tradition of Christian resistance literature that calls believers to support righteous government, oppose oppression, and remember that the Most High still rules in the kingdoms of men.

For Christians, students of liberty, and lovers of history alike, this remarkable work offers a compelling and deeply biblical answer to one of the most important questions of every age: What does God require of rulers—and of the people they govern?

109 pages