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Eschatology • Waupaca, WI • AM

Live
Ready

Because no one knows the day or hour, every disciple must live in constant readiness.
Ed Rangel March 29, 2026 Matthew 24–25 • 2 Peter 3
Main Text

Matthew 24:36–51
Matthew 25:1–13

Mark 13:32–37 • Luke 12:35–40 • 2 Peter 3:10–14
Series: EschatologyText / Context
Learning Objectives

What This Lesson Must Do

  • Show Matthew 24:36 marks the final-coming shift
  • Prove Christ forbids date-setting and demands readiness
  • Contrast passive interest with faithful obedience
Text / Context1
Learning Objectives

What This Lesson Must Do

  • Apply the ten virgins to personal responsibility
  • Show biblical eschatology produces holiness, not speculation
Text / Context2
Opening Hook

God Did Not Leave the Church a Prophecy Calculator

  • Panic preaching turns headlines into fake prophecy keys
  • Men build platforms on fear and timeline selling
  • Jesus did not command calculation but readiness
Anchor Slide3
Thesis

Because no one knows the day or hour, every disciple must live ready.

Watchfulness • Obedience • Preparedness • Holiness4
Point I

The Lord’s Coming Will Be Sudden

Do not live asleep.
Matthew 24:36–44 • Mark 13:32–37 • Luke 12:35–40
Point I Support

Matthew 24:36 Marks a Turning Point

Earlier

  • Identifiable signs
  • Jerusalem’s coming judgment
  • “When you see” language

Now

  • “No one knows”
  • Unknown final return
  • No visible timetable
Matthew 24:365
Scripture

No One Knows

“But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.”
Matthew 24:36
Point I Support

The Days of Noah Expose Ordinary-Life Blindness

  • People lived as though judgment would never come
  • Noah preached, but they ignored the warning
  • The flood made indifference their ruin
Matthew 24:37–396
Point I Support

Not a Secret Rapture Scheme

Context of Noah

  • Taken by judgment
  • Left in preservation

Emphasis

  • Sudden judgment
  • Final separation
  • Irreversible accountability
Matthew 24:40–417
Point I Support

Luke 12 Presses the Same Point

  • A thief does not announce himself
  • The Lord comes with unexpectedness
  • Readiness cannot be seasonal
  • Readiness must be constant
Luke 12:35–408
Application

Do Not Live Asleep

Personal
You do not get to schedule repentance.
Congregational
A careless church is an unready church.
Generational
Do not raise headline religion instead of holy living.
Point I Application9
Gem

Jesus did not command you to guess the day; He commanded you to be ready for it.

Point II

The Lord Expects Faithful Service

Do not delay obedience.
Matthew 24:45–51 • Mark 13:33–37
Point II Support

Readiness Is Duty, Loyalty, and Work

  • The faithful servant is found doing duty
  • He keeps feeding the household
  • He does not need crisis to awaken
Matthew 24:45–4710
Point II Support

The Fatal Thought: “My Master Is Delayed”

  • False delay weakens accountability
  • Corruption follows a sleepy heart
  • Drift begins long before open rebellion
Matthew 24:48–4911
Point II Support

I have time. I can fix this later. I can coast for a while.

The lie behind drift12
Point II Support

This Passage Crushes False Security

  • The wicked servant is still called a servant
  • Yet he is judged with the hypocrites
  • Jesus warns the servant, not outsiders only
Matthew 24:50–5113
Application

Readiness Is Proven by How You Live

Personal
You prove readiness before the end, not by talking about it.
Congregational
A ready church keeps preaching, guarding, leading, and obeying.
Point II Application14
Gem

The servant who is ready is the servant found faithful.

Point III

The Lord Requires Personal Readiness

Do not depend on borrowed religion.
Matthew 25:1–13
Point III Support

All Ten Waited — Only Five Were Ready

  • All ten had lamps
  • All ten expected the bridegroom
  • Only five had true preparedness
Matthew 25:1–415
Point III Support

Appearance Is Not Preparedness

They Had

  • Lamps
  • Expectation
  • Religious nearness

They Lacked

  • Reserve oil
  • Settled readiness
  • Real preparedness
Matthew 25:5–916
Point III Support

Borrowed religion will fail when the door shuts.

Matthew 25:10–1217
Application

Your Soul Stands Before God on Your Own Readiness

Personal
Nearness to truth is not the same as surrender to truth.
Generational
Children must fill their own vessels with oil now.
Point III Application18
Cross References

Readiness Requires Endurance

  • Hebrews 3:12–14 — drifting is deadly
  • Romans 14:12 — each gives account to God
  • Philippians 2:12 — work out salvation with fear
Support Slide19
Point IV

The Lord Will Expose Everything

Pursue holiness now.
2 Peter 3:10–14
Point IV Support

Peter Brings Eschatology Down Where It Belongs

  • The day comes like a thief
  • The heavens pass away with a roar
  • The earth and its works are exposed
2 Peter 3:1020
Scripture

What Sort of People Ought You to Be?

“What sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness?”
2 Peter 3:11
Point IV Support

If the Day Is Real, Holiness Matters

  • If judgment is certain, purity matters
  • If the world burns, godliness matters
  • The doctrine of the end must make us clean
2 Peter 3:11–1421
Application

Insight Without Holiness Is a Broken Eschatology

Personal
A man who studies the end without repentance misses the point.
Congregational
A church that talks prophecy but tolerates sin is not ready.
Point IV Application22
Gem

The doctrine of the end is not meant to make us clever, but clean.

Cross References

Hope and Holiness Belong Together

  • 1 John 3:2–3 — future hope leads to present purity
  • Titus 2:11–13 — waiting shapes godly living
  • Romans 13:11–14 — it is time to awaken
Support Slide23
Conclusion

The Lord Told You What Faith Needs

  • You do not know the day or hour
  • You do know He is coming
  • You do know judgment is certain
  • You do know how He told you to live
Conclusion Drive24
Self Examination
  • Are you living awake or spiritually asleep?
  • Are you serving faithfully or coasting?
  • Are you prepared or leaning on borrowed religion?
Closing Questions25
Closing Drive

Do not wait for another warning. Live ready now.

Closing26
Invitation

Readiness Begins with Obedience to the Gospel

  • Hear — Romans 10:17
  • Believe — John 8:24
  • Repent — Luke 13:3
  • Confess — Romans 10:9–10
Invitation27
Invitation

Be Baptized for the Remission of Sins

  • Acts 2:38
  • Mark 16:16
  • Readiness begins now, not later
Invitation28
Invitation

If You Have Drifted, Repent Now

  • Do not stand at the door empty-handed
  • Do not play games with borrowed time
  • Acts 8:22 — repent and pray
Invitation29
Gem

A closed door cannot be reopened by late regret.

Resources

Further Study at EVVFaith

Study Guide
Live Ready interactive guide at EVVFaith
Short Outline
Live Ready short sermon outline HTML
Slide Deck 1
Live Ready projection deck version 1
Slide Deck 2
Live Ready projection deck version 2
Short labels only • raw URLs omitted on purpose30
Closing
Come now. Obey now. Repent now. Live ready.
Ed Rangel • Waupaca, WI31
Final Word

These slides do not decorate sermons. They carry them.

Eschatology • Live Ready32