Israel and the Church
- T22.1 Common Era III expectation that ’the Jews shall believe in the true Christ’ before the judgement (Augustine) (low)
- T22.2 Era I: not to ‘Judaize’ (Ignatius); Era II: Christians are ’the true spiritual Israel’ (Justin) (high)
Two separate measures, shown side by side; neither is combined with the other (confidence-weighted, out of 4; counts show how many of this doctrine's 2 questions each rests on; ⚠ marks coverage more than 10 points below the median, a less certain rank). This doctrine is third-order (tier weight 1). How scoring works · Scripture and tradition · Glossary · Every score with its citation
Closeness to Scripture
Closeness to the fathers
Charts: closeness to the fathers by question, and timeline
- c. 110 Ignatius T22.2
- c. 155 Justin Martyr T22.2
- c. 415 Augustine T22.1
- 1439 Council of Florence Catholic
- 1646 Westminster Confession Presbyterian
T22 · Israel and the Church
Future conversion of Israel; the end of the ceremonial law.
Tier: Third-order (scoring weight 1). How the tiers were set: theological triage. Method: conventions. Traditions’ sources: confessional sources.
In short
Early Christians held that the Jewish ceremonial law ended with Christ; Justin called the Church ’the true spiritual Israel’. Paul also writes that ‘all Israel will be saved’ (Romans 11), and Augustine said Christians commonly expected the Jews to turn to Christ before the end. Every confession checked agrees on the law; only the Westminster Larger Catechism prays for Israel’s conversion.
Plan
Questions: T22.1 will Israel as a people turn to Christ before the end (Rom 11:25–26)?; T22.2 has the Mosaic ceremonial law ended in Christ, with the Church as the Israel of God? Scripture: Rom 9:6; 11:1, 25–29; Gal 6:16; Col 2:16–17; Heb 8:13; Acts 15. Fathers: Ignatius, Magnesians 10; Justin, Dialogue 11; Augustine, City of God XX.29.
Questions
Verdicts and trace
Weighed under the source-proximity principle: Scripture first, then the father eras I–IV.
T22.1 · A future turning of Israel to Christ
| Question | Verdict | Confidence | Reasoning | Key sources | Scripture (benchmark) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T22.1 | Common Era III expectation that ’the Jews shall believe in the true Christ’ before the judgement (Augustine) | Medium–low | T22.1.1 · T22.1.3 weighing | augustine-t22-s1 | T22.1.4: low |
T22.2 · The ceremonial law fulfilled; the Church as Israel
| Question | Verdict | Confidence | Reasoning | Key sources | Scripture (benchmark) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T22.2 | Era I: not to ‘Judaize’ (Ignatius); Era II: Christians are ’the true spiritual Israel’ (Justin) | High | T22.2.1 · T22.2.3 weighing | ignatius-t22-s1 · justin-martyr-t22-s1 | T22.2.4: high |
Post-750 development
Which of this doctrine’s questions each tradition stays closest to, or departs from. Each row links to the tradition’s notes; exact scores and bases are in the reasoning.
| Tradition | Closest to the fathers on | Departs or sharpens on |
|---|---|---|
| Catholic | T22.2 | — |
| Orthodox | — | — |
| Oriental Orthodox | — | — |
| Lutheran | T22.2 | — |
| Anglican | T22.2 | — |
| Presbyterian | T22.1, T22.2 | — |
| Reformed Baptist | T22.2 | — |
| General Baptist | — | — |
| Anabaptist | — | — |
Overall verdict
T22.1: a future conversion of Israel was a common Era III hope and fits Rom 11 on its most natural reading; among the classic texts only the Westminster Larger Catechism prays for it. T22.2: all traditions scored agree with Era I–II that the ceremonial law has ended in Christ.
Verification status
Florence, AC XXVIII, Art. VII, WCF XIX.3, WLC 191 and 1689 19.3 are verified. Most T22.1 cells are not addressed.