The Lord does, in fact, produce the new birth in all who believe in Jesus; and their believing is the surest evidence that they are born again. We trust in Jesus for what we cannot do ourselves: if it were in our own power, what need of looking to Him? It is ours to believe, it is the Lord’s to create us anew. He will not believe for us, neither are we to do regenerating work for Him. 

I have been doing a great deal of research in preparation for the writing of my next book which is a commentary on Paul’s Epistle to the Romans. Much of that research had to do with listening to some preachers who seem to do everything they can to avoid actually preaching about anything having to do with the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ or anything that is based in solid Biblical doctrine. The visible church in our time is quickly taking on the shape of the counterfeit Church we see in the book of Revelation. However, for this post, I will be using a chapter from All of Grace by Charles Spurgeon. The chapter’s title is “Regeneration and the Holy Spirit.” Enjoy and be blessed – Mike Ratliff
7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’John 3:7 (LSB)
44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day. John 6:44 (LSB)
YE MUST BE BORN AGAIN.” This word of our Lord Jesus has appeared to flame in the way of many, like the drawn sword of the cherub at the gate of Paradise. They have despaired, because this change is beyond their utmost effort. The new birth is from above, and therefore it is not in the creature’s power. Now, it is far from my mind to deny, or ever to conceal, a truth in order to create a false comfort. I freely admit that the new birth is supernatural, and that it cannot be wrought by the sinner’s own self. It would be a poor help to my reader if I were wicked enough to try to cheer him by persuading him to reject or forget what is unquestionably true.
But is it not remarkable that the very chapter in which our Lord makes this sweeping declaration also contains the most explicit statement as to salvation by faith? Read the third chapter of John’s Gospel and do not dwell alone upon its earlier sentences. It is true that the third verse says:
Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
But, then, the fourteenth and fifteenth verses speak:
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.The eighteenth verse repeats the same doctrine in the broadest terms:
He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
It is clear to every reader that these two statements must agree, since they came from the same lips, and are recorded on the same inspired page.
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The kingdom of God has been commenced. It is this reality that defines our lives, directs our steps, and encourages our hearts for life in this fallen world that is in opposition to God and His Christ. As God’s people we are called to overcome, to stand against the forces of a fallen world and to strive for the advancement of the kingdom of God. We fight not for victory but in victory, overcoming by the blood of the Lamb. 

To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood,and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father,to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. (Rev. 1:5–6, NKJV)
How does the book of Revelation contribute to our perspective on the kingdom of God? We can answer this question by considering the way our vision works. My wife recently had cataract surgery. She was given several lens replacement options. She chose to have a distance lens put in one eye and a close lens in the other. That would leave it up to her brain to figure things out so that she could focus near and far.
That’s how Revelation works to give us perspective in relation to the kingdom of God. On the one hand, we see the kingdom of God present in power. Through rich symbolism and biblical imagery and prophetic word, we are shown Jesus Christ who lives and reigns on high. He is the lion of the tribe of Judah. He is the root of David. And He has conquered and has begun to reign.
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To the disciples, much about Jesus’ coming Kingdom would be learned through these secretive parables (Matthew 11:34-35). They understood that for a period of time, imposters would exist alongside the true followers of Christ, like a field of wheat and tares (Matthew 13:24-31). But, by the end, the Kingdom of Christ would tower over all the kingdoms of the earth, like a Mustard tree in the master’s garden (Matthew 13:31-32). And, at the end of the age (As Malachi predicted), all who are in Christ would be separated from the wicked, like good and bad fish caught in a dragnet (Matthew 13:47-52). 

From Malachi’s Eden to Matthew’s Jerusalem
As we begin, I want to reinforce two tremendous truths that have revolutionized my study of eschatology. 1) Most of the “end-time” events have already occurred in the past. They truly were future events to the men who described them and wrote them down. But, for us, most of these events have already occurred. 2) Jesus came to earth twice in the first century. The first coming was physical and incarnational. This is where He rescued His people and delivered them from their sins. The second coming was spiritual and covenantal. This is where He rained down judgment upon apostate Judah for her crimes and rebellion.
We know this because Malachi prophecies there will be two specific first-century “comings” of the Lord. His first coming will be a physical coming, where He rescues those who feared the Lord and esteemed His holy name (Malachi 3:16). This includes all those who repented and followed Jesus under the guidance of John, those who repented under the ministry of Jesus, or those that believed in His name in the earliest days of the Church. God saves those men and women by allowing His one and only Son to undergo the punishment they deserve (alluded to in Malachi 3:17) so that He can declare them righteous, and distinguish them from the wicked (Malachi 3:18). This certainly has already occurred and is the very Gospel of our salvation today.
The second first-century “coming” of Christ, described by Malachi, is a spiritual act of judgment against the covenant rebels in Judah. While Jesus’ physical body remained in heaven, seated upon His throne, Malachi tells us that He would bring a fiery judgment that none of that generation could endure. Of that “coming”, Malachi tells us several things:

“But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? – Malachi 3:2
“Then I will draw near to you for judgment – Malachi 3:5a
“For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace, and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them ablaze,” says the Lord of hosts, “so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.” 2 “But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall. 3 You will tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day which I am preparing,” says the Lord of hosts. – Malachi 4:1-3

These final verses from chapter 4 bring the entire theological point together. Jesus is coming in two different ways to deal with two very different kinds of people. For the repentant, He will rise from the dead bringing healing to the broken, and He will endow the joyless with never-ending delight. He will welcome His people into the garden of His presence. He will graft them into His covenantal and life-giving vine, even while cutting off the apostate Jews so that neither root or branch remains. Unto that wicked and adulterous generation, the Lord would not come in peace, but with a flaming sword. He will turn them back into the dust from which He made them and put them, like the serpent, under His people’s feet (c.f. Romans 16:20). That is the picture Malachi is painting.
This is also the eschatological picture the whole Bible is painting. Adam was created to live with God, have a legacy and dominion, feast upon the life-giving tree, and put the enemies of God under his feet. Instead, Adam chose to sin, which meant he lost his relationship with God, he was chased out of the garden with a fiery sword, he was banned from the tree of life, his progeny was put under the curse, and his dominion was turned into slavery, and his body was subjected to sweat, blood, and toil until it returned again to the dust.
This is the subtle Edenic picture Malachi is painting for Jerusalem. Like Adam, the Jews were going to lose their favored status as God’s firstborn son (Exodus 4:22-23). The nation would be removed from the garden land of Judah, set ablaze by the sword of His wrath, incapable of consuming the life-giving vine, their legacy finished, their national sovereignty turned to full-on slavery, and their bodies turned to ash so that God’s true people would tread them underfoot.
What Malachi is alluding to is that fallen Jerusalem will fare no better than fallen Adam. But, redeemed Jerusalem, the Israel of God (Galatians 3), who is the church that Jesus would save unto Himself, would be brought back into relationship with their creator by the working of the true and better Adam (1 Corinthians 15). Because of Jesus, the Church will have a lasting legacy that will bless all the families of this world (Genesis 12:1-3) and she will have a never-ending dominion that extends His Kingdom to the ends of the earth (Daniel 2:44-45). Because of Jesus, the Church will be a tree planted beside the fount of living water (Psalm 1; John 7), she will be grafted into the life-giving vine of His love (John 15), to produce all kinds of fruit for His glory (Galatians 5; Revelation 22:1-2), that will also provide healing to the nations. And, instead of returning to the dust in curse, eventually, these people will be given new heavenly bodies (1 Corinthians 15) to live with their true Adam King, forever in a garden city (Revelation 22).
When Malachi speaks of two very specific outcomes, happening to two very different kinds of people, that are brought about by two very different kinds of “comings”, he does two very important things. First, he is simply picking up on the massive Biblical themes that were woven throughout God’s amazing story. The children of the serpent (everyone who rejects God’s messenger), will receive the curses of the covenant (Matthew 23:33; 1 John 3:8-10). The children of God, made alive by the rising Son, will receive every single one of the covenant blessings (Ephesians 1:3). Second, he is rooting the fulfillment and inauguration of all the Old Testament’s eschatology to the two first-century comings of Christ.
Knowing these truths, mentioned above, will help us as we transition from the last book of the Old Testament to the first book of the New Testament. There, we will examine what Jesus, Himself, says about the topic of eschatology, and how that applies to Jerusalem, which will take us several weeks to cover. Today, we will begin with some introductory observations.
From Eschatological Malachi to Jesus as True Israel
The first portion of Matthew’s Gospel details how the coming Christ will bring healing to His people, as Malachi predicted. What Matthew uniquely contributes to this story is that Christ would do that work by replacing Israel. For instance, in Matthew 1, Jesus will come from the prototypical line of David and Abraham, which makes Him not only a candidate for the Jewish throne but the one who will bring the Abrahamic blessing to the nations (Galatians 3:16). This makes Him true Israel, but let us keep going.
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