Luke 22 - Are 12 apostles going to literally judge 12 tribes

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jpat1975
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Luke 22 - Are 12 apostles going to literally judge 12 tribes

Post by jpat1975 » Sat Apr 30, 2016 4:57 pm

In Luke 22 it says "...and I assign to you, as my Father assigned to me, a kingdom, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. "

- Question: Doesn't this PROVE there HAS to be a future literal restoration of NATIONAL Israel and 12 distinct TRIBES?

Was this ever fulfilled on any level?

Or are we also take this level of granularity spiritualized? If so then what 12 sub-things are these?

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steve
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Re: Luke 22 - Are 12 apostles going to literally judge 12 tr

Post by steve » Sun May 01, 2016 8:27 pm

This verse in Luke is repeating what Jesus had said to them earlier, after the encounter with the rich, young ruler (Matt.19:28).

The expression "twelve tribes" is not necessarily suggesting a future restoration of the twelve (or thirteen, if Ephraim and Manasseh are separate) discreet tribal identities. The term "twelve tribes" is a collective way of saying "Israel," or "the Jewish people" (see Acts 26:7; James 1:1). Similarly, "you" does not refer literally to the twelve men hearing Him speak, since Judas was among them, in Matthew 19:28—and the words did not apply to him. In that verse, "you [twelve] who have followed me" simply referred to the apostolic band, just as "twelve tribes" referred to the nation of Israel. These are being used as shorthand terms.

In that earlier place, Jesus had told the disciples that they would rule (as He put it) "in the regeneration." It is interesting that He did not say "in heaven," "in eternity," "in the millennium" or even "in the resurrection." Instead, he used the word "regeneration," a word found in only one other New Testament passage, Titus 3:5, where it seems to refer to the present experience of born again believers. Theologically, "regeneration" has come to be used as a synonym for being reborn.

I don't know why Jesus used this word here, if He was referring to some future state better known and more frequently referred to by other terminology. I suspect He meant, "After the Spirit comes, and you are living in the regenerated state, your role will be judging (or communicating God's judgments to) the nation of Israel."

The reference to "thrones" may be as non-literal as is "crowns" in many places (e.g., Job 19:9; Psalm 8:5; 103:4; Prov.4:9; 12:4; 17:6; Isa. 28:5; etc.)—representing honor or authority. In Revelation, for example, both "thrones" and "crowns" are frequently used as emblems of authority, though those given the thrones do not actually seem to sit much on them, and those given crowns don't actually wear them (Rev.4:4, 9-10)!

After Pentecost, the twelve apostles were God's authoritative spokesmen, agents of King Jesus, to "the circumcision" (Gal.2:8-9)—that is, to the Jews. By contrast, Paul was not one of the twelve, and his mission was to the uncircumcised (i.e., not the Jews).

dwilkins
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Re: Luke 22 - Are 12 apostles going to literally judge 12 tr

Post by dwilkins » Wed May 04, 2016 1:31 am

I'd connect it with Daniel 7:19 and following, and Revelation 20:4. In my opinion, they are directly connected with the era of the Roman Empire in the age of the Apostles.

Doug

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