Does that mean when Jesus told his disciples that they were going to sit on seats of judgement over the 12 tribes in heaven that He wasn't being literal. Or in James 1:1 when James wrote to the 12 tribes scattered abroad, he wasn't really writing to the 12 tribes scattered abroad. Or that the New Jerusalem has 12 gates with the name of each tribe over each gate and no gate for the church that the church will not be able to get into the New Jerusalem?
Oh, year and what about the statement Jesus made, "I came ONLY for the lost sheep of the HOUSE OF ISRAEL" aka the ten lost tribes.
Way to much evidence on the 12 tribes to dismiss them as figurative.
Neither do you, unless you believe that Judas Iscariot will be on some throne. You believe that the 12 were not the "literal" 12 in front of him. So you are not "literal," either, but simply change where you apply the symbolism.
Or in James 1:1 when James wrote to the 12 tribes scattered abroad, he wasn't really writing to the 12 tribes scattered abroad.
Or that you have misinterpreted what the 12 tribes are, and misunderstand the nature of the grafting in of the Gentiles, so that Gentile Christians are EVERY BIT AS MUCH a part of the 12 tribes as a descendant of Abraham. That is the historic understanding of the people of faith for about 2000 years, now.
Oh, year and what about the statement Jesus made, "I came ONLY for the lost sheep of the HOUSE OF ISRAEL" aka the ten lost tribes.
Problem number one, these tribes were not "lost" at the time of this utterance of Jesus. There was a remnant of people who never left Israel, who had stayed in the land and intermarried with the heathen and adopted a syncretistic religion. They called them "Samaritans." Your understanding of the history of what happened in the diaspora is woefully woefully inadequate. Furthermore, the dispersal of peoples around the ancient world did NOT destroy their identity as sons of Abraham. These people established ethnic enclaves, set up synagogues, and kept their identity ALL OVER THE MEDITERRANEAN BASIN. The idea that the "Jews" only referred to Judah descendants and that those synagogues all over the Roman empire were populated only by descendants of Judah is just silly, and historically inaccurate. Many of them did lose their ethnic identity altogether, but others did not. To conjure up some weird idea of 10 lost tribes migrating to America, or that the 10 lost tribes are in reality gentiles who just think they are gentiles but really are physical descendants of Abraham belongs out there with the wack job tracts like "Chariots of the Gods?" or "None Dare call it Conspiracy."
Sorry, but Christianity has enough navel gazing, self-flagellating, run-to-the-hills-because-the-end-of-the-world-is-here, weird and ignorant sects ALREADY, without adding one more to the mix.