That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. (Luke 22:30; cf. Matt 19:28)
Commenting on this promise of Jesus, found in Matthew and Luke, Daniel A. Smith wrote the following which refutes the popular claim that Jesus is only promising the twelve a position of ruling merely, not a role in the eschatological judgment:
What exactly this judging role entails is unclear. One possibility is the usual sense of determining guilt at the final judgment, though some have suggested that ‘governing’ is more appropriate here. In favour of the latter solution are materials such as Pss. Sol. 17.26, which looks ahead to the Messiah restoring and judging (ruling) the tribes of the people, as well as other texts predicting a similar role for the faithful (e.g., Dan. 7.13-14, 18, 22; 1 En. 62.1, 14; Rev. 3.21), which focus ‘on a ruling function rather than the administration of justice’. In addition, some think that ‘thrones’—not to mention whatever soot as the object in 22.28—suggests the establishment of a kingdom, rather than a judgment scenario. However, nowhere else in the New Testament is the verb κρινω or its cognates used in this sense, and κριτης is used in Q where there is a negative outcome for the one(s) being judged. Fleddermann rightly notes that the ‘ruling’ or ‘governing’ interpretation of κρινοντες requires a ‘reconstituted Israel’, a concept that appears to be foreign to Q. The reference to the twelve tribes is best viewed as synonymous for all Israel as under the judgment of Jesus’ followers, whose earthly allegiance to him was tested in synagogues (Q. 12.11-12). (Daniel A. Smith, The Post-Mortem Vindication of Jesus in the Sayings Gospel Q [Library of New Testament Studies 338; London: T&T Clark International, 2006], 139-40)
I have discussed this promise in the Gospels and Joseph Smith’s role in final judgment for those who live in this dispensation. See:
