Leviticus 1; Leviticus 2; Leviticus 3; Matthew 24:1-28

Leviticus 1

1 Then the Lord summoned Moses and spoke to him from the tent of meeting:

2 "Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When any of you brings an offering to the Lord from the livestock, you may bring your offering from the herd or the flock.

3 "If his gift is a burnt offering from the herd, he is to bring an unblemished male. He must bring it to the entrance to the tent of meeting so that he may be accepted by the Lord.

4 He is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering so it can be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him.

5 He is to slaughter the bull before the Lord; Aaron's sons the priests are to present the blood and sprinkle it on all sides of the altar that is at the entrance to the tent of meeting.

6 Then he must skin the burnt offering and cut it into pieces.

7 The sons of Aaron the priest will prepare a fire on the altar and arrange wood on the fire.

8 Aaron's sons the priests are to arrange the pieces, the head, and the suet on top of the burning wood on the altar.

9 The offerer must wash its entrails and shanks with water. Then the priest will burn all of it on the altar as a burnt offering, a fire offering of a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

10 "But if his gift for a burnt offering is from the flock, from sheep or goats, he is to present an unblemished male.

11 He will slaughter it on the north side of the altar before the Lord. Aaron's sons the priests will sprinkle its blood against the altar on all sides.

12 He will cut it into pieces with its head and its suet, and the priest will arrange them on top of the burning wood on the altar.

13 But he is to wash the entrails and shanks with water. The priest will then present all of it and burn [it] on the altar; it is a burnt offering, a fire offering of a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

14 "If his gift to the Lord is a burnt offering of birds, he is to present his offering from the turtledoves or young pigeons.

15 Then the priest must bring it to the altar, and must twist off its head and burn [it] on the altar; its blood should be drained at the side of the altar.

16 He will remove its digestive tract, cutting off the tail feathers, and throw it on the east side of the altar at the place for ashes.

17 He will tear it open by its wings without dividing [the bird]. Then the priest is to burn it on the altar on top of the burning wood. It is a burnt offering, a fire offering of a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

Leviticus 2

1 "When anyone presents a grain offering as a gift to the Lord, his gift must consist of fine flour. He is to pour olive oil on it, put frankincense on it,

2 and bring it to Aaron's sons the priests. The priest will take a handful of fine flour and oil from it, along with all its frankincense, and will burn this memorial portion of it on the altar, a fire offering of a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

3 But the rest of the grain offering will belong to Aaron and his sons, the holiest part of the fire offerings to the Lord.

4 "When you present a grain offering baked in an oven, it must be [made] of fine flour, either unleavened cakes mixed with oil or unleavened wafers coated with oil.

5 If your gift is a grain offering prepared on the griddle, it must be unleavened bread [made] of fine flour mixed with oil.

6 Break it into pieces and pour oil on it; it is a grain offering.

7 If your gift is a grain offering [prepared] in a pan, it must be made of fine flour with oil.

8 When you bring to the Lord the grain offering made in any of these ways, it is to be presented to the priest, and he will take it to the altar.

9 The priest will remove the memorial portion from the grain offering and burn it on the altar, a fire offering of a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

10 But the rest of the grain offering will belong to Aaron and his sons, the holiest part of the fire offerings to the Lord.

11 "No grain offering that you present to the Lord is to be made with yeast, for you are not to burn any yeast or honey as a fire offering to the Lord.

12 You may present them to the Lord as an offering of firstfruits, but they are not to be offered on the altar as a pleasing aroma.

13 You are to season each of your grain offerings with salt; you must not omit from your grain offering the salt of the covenant with your God. You are to present salt with each of your offerings.

14 "If you present a grain offering of firstfruits to the Lord, you must present fresh heads of grain, crushed kernels, roasted on the fire, for your grain offering of firstfruits.

15 You are to put oil and frankincense on it; it is a grain offering.

16 The priest will then burn some of its crushed kernels and oil with all its frankincense as a fire offering to the Lord.

Leviticus 3

1 "If his offering is a fellowship sacrifice, and he is presenting [an animal] from the herd, whether male or female, he must present one without blemish before the Lord.

2 He is to lay his hand on the head of his offering and slaughter it at the entrance to the tent of meeting. Then Aaron's sons the priests will sprinkle the blood on all sides of the altar.

3 He will present part of the fellowship sacrifice as a fire offering to the Lord: the fat surrounding the entrails, all the fat that is on the entrails,

4 and the two kidneys with the fat on them at the loins; he will also remove the fatty lobe of the liver with the kidneys.

5 Aaron's sons will burn it on the altar along with the burnt offering that is on the burning wood, a fire offering of a pleasing aroma to the Lord.

6 "If his offering as a fellowship sacrifice to the Lord is from the flock, he must present a male or female without blemish.

7 If he is presenting a lamb for his offering, he is to present it before the Lord.

8 He must lay his hand on the head of his offering, then slaughter it before the tent of meeting. Aaron's sons will sprinkle its blood on all sides of the altar.

9 He will then present part of the fellowship sacrifice as a fire offering to the Lord [consisting of] its fat and the entire fat tail, which he is to remove close to the backbone. He will also remove the fat surrounding the entrails, all the fat on the entrails,

10 the two kidneys with the fat on them at the loins, and the fatty lobe of the liver above the kidneys.

11 Then the priest will burn it on the altar as food, a fire offering to the Lord.

12 "If his offering is a goat, he is to present it before the Lord.

13 He must lay his hand on its head and slaughter it before the tent of meeting. Aaron's sons will sprinkle its blood on all sides of the altar.

14 He will present part of his offering as a fire offering to the Lord: the fat surrounding the entrails, all the fat that is on the entrails,

15 and the two kidneys with the fat on them at the loins; he will also remove the fatty lobe of the liver with the kidneys.

16 Then the priest will burn them on the altar as food, a fire offering for a pleasing aroma. "All fat belongs to the Lord.

17 This is a permanent statute throughout your generations, wherever you live: you must not eat any fat or any blood."

Matthew 24:1-28

1 As Jesus left and was going out of the temple complex, His disciples came up and called His attention to the temple buildings.

2 Then He replied to them, "Don't you see all these things? I assure you: Not one stone will be left here on another that will not be thrown down!"

3 While He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples approached Him privately and said, "Tell us, when will these things happen? And what is the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?"

4 Then Jesus replied to them: "Watch out that no one deceives you.

5 For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Messiah,' and they will deceive many.

6 You are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, because these things must take place, but the end is not yet.

7 For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.

8 All these events are the beginning of birth pains.

9 "Then they will hand you over for persecution, and they will kill you. You will be hated by all nations because of My name.

10 Then many will take offense, betray one another and hate one another.

11 Many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.

12 Because lawlessness will multiply, the love of many will grow cold.

13 But the one who endures to the end will be delivered.

14 This good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed in all the world as a testimony to all nations. And then the end will come.

15 "So when you see the abomination that causes desolation , spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place" (let the reader understand) ,

16 "then those in Judea must flee to the mountains!

17 A man on the housetop must not come down to get things out of his house.

18 And a man in the field must not go back to get his clothes.

19 Woe to pregnant women and nursing mothers in those days!

20 Pray that your escape may not be in winter or on a Sabbath.

21 For at that time there will be great tribulation, the kind that hasn't taken place from the beginning of the world until now and never will again!

22 Unless those days were limited, no one would survive. But those days will be limited because of the elect.

23 "If anyone tells you then, 'Look, here is the Messiah!' or, 'Over here!' do not believe it!

24 False messiahs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.

25 Take note: I have told you in advance.

26 So if they tell you, 'Look, he's in the wilderness!' don't go out; 'Look, he's in the inner rooms!' do not believe it.

27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

28 Wherever the carcass is, there the vultures will gather.