Regeneration, then, is mankind, and for that matter all existence, returning to the state of entire goodness which was and will be “bliss.” On Earth, never again will things be “entirely good” until after Jesus comes again. For that reason, regeneration will not be completed until that time.
We are taught by Jesus to pray, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven” (Mat 6:10). Jesus is speaking of the resurrection of the earth and of mankind since “wills” are mentioned. He is not speaking about on Earth or in Heaven, but that there would be a re-erection of things in this physical existence, to the same as in the unseen spiritual existence. Perhaps just as the elements of the body have life breathed back into them, that the physical world will have spiritual life breathed back into it. Hence, Paradise in earth and Paradise in heaven shall be regenerated, as well as the Spirit of God breathed again unto the souls of men, making them entirely good.
Generating is a process. Note in the source above that all definitions in this context are for the “process” of bringing into existence, and regeneration is bringing back those processes. Scripture describes quite well the regeneration of the heaven and the earth, therefore, it will be just as it was generated in the beginning. Thus, regeneration of people is a process which begins at conception, crowns at rebirth, and is finished at the completion of the re-erection, or what is called the “Resurrection.”
Regeneration is not one event at any given time, but various events over time. Ideas are conceived in the heart leading to one of two things: sinful thoughts for ill will toward men or God (Acts 5:3-5) or the opposite — goodwill toward men or God (Rom 12:2). First things first; the heart conceives a thought for good or evil. The first step in the regeneration process is that you must realize that you yourself cannot prevent your own spiritual death, but Jesus can (John 3:14). That realization is the spark that illumines (John 3:19) and the idea is conceived.
After contemplation, the sinner has become persuaded (Luke 16:31), and when the “Light” is seen, then, “Marvel not; ye must be born again” (John 3:7). That is when the spiritual “baby” crowns and as he first sees the light; not yet clearly, which will come with time, but enough to stay alive.
Real babies need nourishment, comfort, and safety. Parents do that with God’s assistance. Spiritual babes in Christ require much the same. The Holy Ghost provides Comfort and Safety, and the Word provides nourishment. The spiritual “infant” has then progressed through two stages of the regeneration process; and all the while Satan induces the will to abort by various deceptive practices. Those who endure the trials of the world and its “prince” until the end “shall be saved” (Mat 10:22). One more stage in the process is completed at that time.
The end comes with death. That is the next stage of the process. “To live is Christ; to die is gain” (Phil 1:21). “Living” is having God’s Holy Spirit breathed unto the human soul. Living is Christ within His Temple of His Holy Ghost. Death is the stage in the process where the flesh gives up the soul and the flesh perishes into the dust from which it came (Gen 3:19). At that time, the soul has finally been saved, but the body has yet to be re-erected.
The soul is in heaven in another realm protected from the wiles of the Devil, but the body remains “asleep” as Jesus calls it. The soul never sleeps as some believe but is always aware. When Jesus comes with the sound of the trumpet, the dead in Christ shall arise followed by those remaining alive in Christ.
With that “rapture” (snatching up) compete (1 Thes 4:15-17), then the Regeneration process is near complete. Note that for the dead that are resurrected their regeneration is near its conclusion with the resurrection. For those who remaining alive in Christ, their “Resurrection” occurs without physically dying as they have already become dead to the world. Finally, those still living will be made alive from sin in the world (Rom 6:11).
The rapture is a snatching-up to the Presence and Glory of God. Hence, the process concludes, and becomes stable and irreversible when the body is glorified, standing in the Presence of God with a regenerated entirely perfect body alive in harmony with a perfect willing Holy Spirit.
Regeneration will not be exactly as it was in the Garden. Perhaps that is the reason why the translators rendered the Hebrew “very good” rather than “entirely good.” The difference is that in the heavenly Paradise there will be no Lucifer and no Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil! Why would glorified people who have been entirely regenerated need to know about evil? They have been saved from evil and from Lucifer! Lucifer no longer has any utility as his role was merely as testing agent for God. Finally, regeneration is salvation from Lucifer and habitation in a realm that has no sin.
With Satan gone and sin non-existent, the world will be regenerated back to its near previous condition — “entirely good” for sure and forever! Then New Jerusalem, the City of God, will translate to its original place by this time cleansed by intense heat. Finally, the meek shall inherit the earth (the physical realm); back to where it all started in the midst of the Garden of Eden in Jerusalem on the very foundation stone now protected by the Dome of the Rock.
Let me end here by noting that the Dome of the Rock was built because of Judas Iscariot but is to preserve that holy location for Jesus’s Kingdom finally on Earth in earth. (It is my contention that Jerusalem is the “midst of the Garden of Eden, and Adam will be resurrected from his tomb there under Golgotha. That is the premise of my book, The Skull of Adam” of anyone desires to pursue that line of thought further. Also, that Judas is the Isa of Islam.)
(picture credit: Sojourners "Lazarus raised from the dead.")
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