Tale of the Golden King

The Golden King wanted to rule his kingdom forever, but his most trusted advisor warned him that his golden reign was temporary.

“He saw a magnificent tree, but as he admired it, a messenger appeared and ordered it to be chopped down.”

Once upon a time the most powerful nation on Earth had a proud and mighty ruler, whom we’ll call the Golden King. Now, the Golden King wanted to rule his kingdom forever. However, his most trusted advisor, a devout man, warned the king that his golden reign was temporary and would be followed by a silver reign, then a brass one, then an iron one. The coming kingdoms were represented by the metaphor of a majestic statue with a golden head. The advisor told the Golden King, “You are the head of gold.”

The king was thrilled to be the golden head, but he was not happy to hear that the gold would give way to silver. The Golden King did not want to be replaced; he wanted to reign forever. He decided to have craftsmen build a larger-than-life statue of himself that was all gold — top to toe. Then he set it up in the middle of a wide plain so it could be seen for miles. He proclaimed a celebration, summoned his subjects to come and gather around the statue, and told them to worthip it.

Tragically, three of the king's advisors refused to bow down because, they asserted, they worshipped only God. Well, the Golden King was furious and ordered them to be thrown into a blazing furnace. But to the king’s shock, they did not burn up. So shamed was the proud king by the miracle that he humbled himself — for a while. But as time passed, his pride grew again, and his love of gold eclipsed his duty to protect and care for the people of his kingdom.

Time passed, and one day as the Golden King was relaxing, he fell asleep and had a dream. He saw a magnificent tree, but as he admired it, a solemn messenger appeared and ordered it to be chopped down. The beautiful tree fell to the ground, its branches were cut off, its fruit removed, and its foliage stripped. The king was terrified, but he remembered his devout advisor who might be able to explain the dream. The advisor came and made a terrible prediction: the Golden King was going to lose his cognitive powers for seven years, and his mind would become like that of a wild beast. The only possible way to delay this outcome would be “by showing mercy to the poor.”

As predicted, the King soon went mad and was turned out of the palace into the fields with the animals.

Although the Golden King’s madness finally brought him to confess his errors, his son who took over the throne had no such pangs of conscience. One night the new king held an extravagant banquet. As he and his friends were partying, they decided to drink their wine from sacred vessels stolen from a holy temple. But while they were drinking, a ghostly hand starting writing strange, glowing letters on the wall.

The frightened young king sought out his father's devout adviser and begged him to interpret the writing. The advisor read the strange words aloud:

MENE
MENE
TEQEL
PHARSAN

Then he interpreted the words:

“God has numbered your kingdom’s days and brought it to an end.”
“You are weighed on the balances and found to be lacking.”
“Your kingdom is divided and given over to the Medes and Persians.”

That very night the golden kingdom fell, and the young king was killed.

~ ~ ~

The Golden King was Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon.
The kingdom was Babylon.
His son was King Belshazzar.
The devout adviser was the prophet Daniel.

~ ~ ~

It has been said that history doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.

Notes

This story is based on the book of Daniel, Chapters 2-5.