Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth: In the age when all things are renewed, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you [the twelve disciples] who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” (Matt 19:28; cf. Rev 7:1–8)
Sometimes the truth is so obvious that it is dismissed—because “the truth cannot be that obvious!” Those who say that there will not be a future reconstituted nation of Israel after the Lord comes back must spiritualize this text (or some claim it is even happening right now!), vitiating its clear meaning.
The presupposition that there will not be a future reconstituted nation of Israel after Jesus returns is so deeply encrusted that when they encounter this prophecy of our Lord, the natural reading is dismissed as “that is not really what it means.”
Premillennialists do not have to contort the plain meaning of this prophecy—its sense is straightforward.
You can lead amillennialists and postmillennialists to water but you cannot make them think.
