Things pointed out by the author about the Twelve include:Shortly before he died, Jesus set up a provisional government with twelve regional officials, one over each of the twelve tribes or districts of Israel, and he left his brother James at the head of this fledgling government.
~ The Jesus Dynasty: The Hidden History of Jesus, His Royal Familly, and the Birth of Christianity, James D. Tabor
- The meaning of the Greek word translated “apostle” = “delegate” or envoy
- The twelve made up the king’s inner cabinet (not a “First Presidency's” inner cabinet)
- The intention was that each would sit on a “throne,” one over each of the tribes
- The Dead Sea Scrolls community had also been structured around an inner Council of Twelve
- It is suspected that four of Jesus’ brothers were among the twelve (“Matthew” also called “Levi son of Alphaeus”, James, Jude also called “Judas of James” and Simon) and they are always listed last by the writers of the Gospels
One of the Davidic Messiah’s main tasks was to assemble the tribes of Israel and he would do it using the Twelve.
Like Tabor says in his preface, “Rather than being the founder of a church, Jesus was claimant to a throne…These “royals” were not only watched, but also at critical times even hunted down and executed…Christians gradually lost the recognition that Jesus was part of a large family, the members of which exercised dynastic leadership among his followers.