 Williams published "The Bloudy Tenent of Persecution for Cause of Conscience," arguing for a separation of church and state based on biblical reasoning.Williams believed that Israel was a unique covenant kingdom and not an appropriate model for New Testament Christians who believed that the Old Testament covenant had been fulfilled.Therefore, the more informative Old Testament examples of civil government were "good" non-covenant kings such as Artaxerxes, who tolerated the Jews and did not insist that they follow his state religion.