Claim. The Israelite united-kingdom monarchy (Saul, David, Solomon) and the Carolingian Christian empire are substantial parallels of the same providential function — consolidation of feudalistic territory into a monarchic society sufficient for the Messiah to come as King of Kings — with the prophet/priest/king triplet of the OT recapitulated by the monastic-leaders/pope/emperor triplet of the NT, and both terminating in failure that prevents the foundation for the Messiah from being established.
Elaboration. Per Part 2 Ch 5 §3: when the judges-period closed, the judges’ threefold function was apportioned to prophet (Word-from-God), priest (Tabernacle/Temple steward), and king (national ruler). In the Christian-empire parallel, regional-church leadership functions were apportioned to monastic leaders (prophet-role), pope (high-priestly role), and emperor (kingly role).
The structural script: prophet/priest stands in Abel-position to teach the Word, then crowns the king/emperor (Samuel anoints Saul; Leo III crowns Charlemagne in 800 CE); the prophet/pope then takes Cain-position in temporal matters, while the king/emperor upholds the prophet/pope’s spiritual authority.
Saul-stage parallels: Saul stood on the 400-year-judges foundation; his 40-year reign was a forty-restoration of Egypt-slavery (400) and Moses’s forty Pharaoh-palace years. Had Saul kept God’s commands and built the Temple, the foundation for the Messiah would have been established. He failed; the providence extended to David’s 40 years and Solomon’s 40 years. Solomon completed the Temple but “fell into lust with his many foreign wives,” leaving Abel-position, so the foundation of substance and thus the foundation for the Messiah was not realized.
Charlemagne-stage parallels: Charlemagne stood on the 400-year regional-church foundation; his 800 coronation achieved the foundation of faith. Had Christendom “absolutely believed in and followed Charlemagne,” the foundation of substance and the foundation for the Second Advent would have been laid then. The emperors instead “did not remain obedient to God’s Will and left the position of Abel.”
Like Abraham (whose Will continued through Isaac and Jacob), Saul’s failed Temple-mission continued through David and was realized in Solomon — making the Saul-David-Solomon trio one providential generation.
Significance. Specifies the content of the monarchic-period parallel: the prophet-priest-king triplet maps to monastic-pope-emperor, and the three-stage Saul-David-Solomon failure mode maps to the three-generation Carolingian decline.
See also. dp-judges-and-regional-church-leadership-parallel-as-feudalistic-pre-monarchic-period · dp-three-generations-abraham-isaac-jacob-counted-as-one-providential-generation · dp-foundation-for-messiah-requires-foundation-of-faith-and-substance