Luke 14:12-14 Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence be made thee. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.
This passage seems to say there is a reward at the resurrection for our actions in this life. Eternal life at the resurrection is entirely a gift of Christ. This verse is not talking about a reward in eternal Heaven because Jesus specifies the resurrection of the just. The resurrection of the just would be the first resurrection. The first resurrection is for the millennium or the Messianic Age which is the fulfillment of the sabbath. The sabbath has great Biblical significance and it must point to something.
Revelation 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
In the eternal kingdom of God, we will love each other equally. Heaven will not be divided into families where we love some people more than others because they are in our family. In Heaven our earthly relationships will be forgotten, and we will love each other equally. God knows we want to reunite with our loved ones. This is why Jesus said that the sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath.
The Messianic Age is a Gift
Revelation 20:2-3 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
The sabbath is the Messianic Age where God gives us a thousand years on the Earth to be with our family and friends, but this is only for the children of God. Only the children of God are resurrected at the first resurrection. That is what is meant by the resurrection of the just. The second death is said to have no power over those resurrected at the first resurrection. The second death is the Day of Judgement. Everyone will be resurrected after the Messianic Age for the Day of Judgment. The millennium is before the Day of Judgment, so there can still be reward for righteousness during the millennium.
The Messianic Age will be a return to the Garden of Eden. It will be the first one thousand years of Heaven. It will be on Earth, and we will have the memories of our lifetime. There will be no suffering, death, or birth. The devil will be bound, and there will be no evil or sin.
The sabbath represents a thousand years of rest we will have to be with our family and friends before we enter the eternal kingdom of God which is a free gift of God through Christ.
