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

1 The LORD called out to Moses. He spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting. He said,

2 "Speak to the people of Israel. Tell them, 'Suppose any one of you brings an offering to the Lord. You must bring an animal from your herd or flock.

3 " 'If a man brings a burnt offering from the herd, he must offer a male animal. It must not have any flaws. He must bring it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. Then the LORD will accept it.

4 " 'The man must place his hand on the head of the burnt offering. Then the LORD will accept it in place of him. It will pay for his sin.

5 The young bull must be killed there in the sight of the Lord. " 'Then the priests who are in Aaron's family line must bring its blood to the altar. They must sprinkle it against every side of the altar. The altar stands at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

6 " 'The skin must be removed from the animal that is brought for the burnt offering. Then the animal must be cut into pieces.

7 " 'The priests who are in Aaron's family line must build a fire on the altar. They must place wood on the fire.

8 Then they must place the pieces of the animal on the burning wood on the altar. The pieces include the head and the fat.

9 " 'The inside parts of the animal must be washed with water. The legs must also be washed. The priest must burn all of it on the altar. " 'It is a burnt offering. It is an offering that is made with fire. It gives a smell that is pleasant to the Lord.

10 " 'If the offering is a burnt offering from the flock, it must be a male animal. It can be a sheep or a goat. It must not have any flaws.

11 " 'It must be killed at the north side of the altar in the sight of the Lord. The priests who are in Aaron's family line must sprinkle its blood against every side of the altar.

12 " 'The animal must be cut into pieces. The priest must place them on the burning wood on the altar. The pieces include the head and the fat.

13 " 'The inside parts must be washed with water. The legs must also be washed. The priest must bring all of it to the altar. He must burn it there. " 'It is a burnt offering. It is an offering that is made with fire. It gives a smell that is pleasant to the Lord.

14 " 'If the offering to the LORD is a burnt offering of birds, it must be a dove or a young pigeon.

15 " 'The priest must bring it to the altar. He must twist its head off. Then he must burn the rest of the bird on the altar. Its blood must be emptied out on the side of the altar.

16 " 'The priest must remove the small bag inside the bird's throat. He must also remove what is in the bag. Then he must throw all of it to the east side of the altar. That is where the ashes are.

17 He must take hold of the wings of the bird and tear it open. But he must not tear it in two. Then the priest will burn it on the wood that is on the fire on the altar. " 'It is a burnt offering. It is an offering that is made with fire. It gives a smell that is pleasant to the Lord.

1 " 'Suppose someone brings a grain offering to the Lord. Then his offering must be made out of fine flour. He must pour olive oil on it. He must also put incense on it.

2 " 'He must take it to the priests who are in Aaron's family line. A priest must take a handful of the fine flour and oil. He must mix it with all of the incense. Then he must burn that part on the altar. It will be a reminder that all good things come from the Lord. It is an offering that is made with fire. It gives a smell that is pleasant to the Lord.

3 " 'The rest of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and to the priests who are in his family line. It is a very holy part of the offerings that are made to the LORD with fire.

4 " 'If you bring a grain offering that is baked in an oven, make it out of fine flour. It can be flat cakes that are made without yeast. Mix them with olive oil. Or it can be wafers that are made without yeast. Spread oil on them.

5 If your grain offering is grilled on a metal plate, make it out of fine flour. Mix it with oil. Make it without yeast.

6 Break it into pieces. Pour oil on it. It is a grain offering.

7 If your grain offering is cooked in a pan, make it out of fine flour and oil.

8 " 'Bring to the LORD your grain offering that is made out of all of those things. Give it to the priest. He must take it to the altar.

9 He must take out the part of the grain offering that reminds you that all good things come from the Lord. He must burn it on the altar. It is an offering that is made with fire. It gives a smell that is pleasant to the Lord.

10 " 'The rest of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and the priests who are in his family line. It is a very holy part of the offerings that are made to the LORD with fire.

11 " 'Every grain offering you bring to the LORD must be made without yeast. You must not burn any yeast or honey in an offering that is made to the LORD with fire.

12 " 'You can bring them to the LORD as an offering of the first share of the food you gather or produce. But they must not be offered on the altar as a pleasant smell.

13 " 'Put salt on all of your grain offerings. Salt stands for the lasting covenant between you and your God. So do not leave it out of your grain offerings. Add it to all of your offerings.

14 " 'Suppose you bring to the LORD a grain offering of the first share of your food. Then offer crushed heads of your first grain that have been cooked in fire.

15 Put olive oil and incense on it. It is a grain offering.

16 " 'The priest must burn part of the crushed grain and the oil. It will remind you that all good things come from the Lord. The priest must burn it together with all of the incense. It is an offering that is made to the LORD with fire.

1 " 'Suppose someone brings a friendship offering. If he offers an animal from the herd, it can be either male or female. It must not have any flaws. He must offer it in the sight of the Lord.

2 " 'The man must place his hand on the animal's head. It must be killed at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting. Then the priests who are in Aaron's family line must sprinkle the blood against every side of the altar.

3 " 'Part of the friendship offering must be given to the LORD as an offering that is made with fire. It must include all of the fat that covers the inside parts or is connected to them.

4 It must include both kidneys with the fat on them next to the lower back muscles. It must also include the covering of the liver. All of it must be removed together with the kidneys.

5 " 'Then the priests who are in Aaron's family line must burn it on the altar. They must burn it on top of the burnt offering on the burning wood. " 'It is an offering that is made with fire. It gives a smell that is pleasant to the Lord.

6 " 'If a man brings an animal from the flock as a friendship offering to the Lord, it can be either male or female. It must not have any flaws.

7 If he brings a lamb, he must offer it in the sight of the Lord.

8 The man must place his hand on the lamb's head. It must be killed there in front of the Tent of Meeting. Then the priests who are in Aaron's family line must sprinkle its blood against every side of the altar.

9 Part of the offering must be brought as a sacrifice that is made to the LORD with fire. It must include the lamb's fat and the entire fat tail cut off close to the backbone. It must include all of the fat that covers the inside parts or is connected to them.

10 It must include both kidneys with the fat on them next to the lower back muscles. It must also include the covering of the liver. All of it must be removed together with the kidneys.

11 " 'Then the priest must burn it on the altar as food. It is an offering that is made to the LORD with fire.

12 " 'If a man brings a goat, he must offer it in the sight of the Lord.

13 The man must place his hand on its head. It must be killed there in front of the Tent of Meeting. Then the priests who are in Aaron's family line must sprinkle its blood against every side of the altar.

14 " 'Part of the offering must be brought as an offering that is made to the LORD with fire. It must include all of the fat that covers the inside parts or is connected to them.

15 It must include both kidneys with the fat on them next to the lower back muscles. It must also include the covering of the liver. All of it must be removed together with the kidneys.

16 " 'Then the priest must burn it on the altar as food. It is an offering that is made with fire. It has a pleasant smell. All of the fat belongs to the Lord.

17 " 'You must not eat any fat or any blood. That is a law that will last for all time to come. It applies no matter where you live.' "

1 Jesus left the temple. He was walking away when his disciples came up to him. They wanted to call his attention to the temple buildings.

2 "Do you see all these things?" Jesus asked. "What I'm about to tell you is true. Not one stone here will be left on top of another. Every stone will be thrown down."

3 Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives. There the disciples came to him in private. "Tell us," they said. "When will this happen? And what will be the sign of your coming? What will be the sign of the end?"

4 Jesus answered, "Keep watch! Be careful that no one fools you.

5 Many will come in my name. They will claim, 'I am the Christ!' They will fool many people.

6 "You will hear about wars. You will also hear people talking about future wars. Don't be alarmed. Those things must happen. But the end still isn't here.

7 Nation will fight against nation. Kingdom will fight against kingdom. People will go hungry. There will be earthquakes in many places.

8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.

9 "Then people will hand you over to be treated badly and killed. All nations will hate you because of me.

10 At that time, many will turn away from their faith. They will hate each other. They will hand each other over to their enemies.

11 Many false prophets will appear. They will fool many people.

12 Because evil will grow, most people's love will grow cold.

13 But the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.

14 This good news of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world. It will be a witness to all nations. Then the end will come.

15 "The prophet Daniel spoke about 'the hated thing that destroys.'(Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11) Someday you will see it standing in the holy place. The reader should understand this.

16 Then those who are in Judea should escape to the mountains.

17 No one on the roof should go down into his house to take anything out.

18 No one in the field should go back to get his coat.

19 How awful it will be in those days for pregnant women! How awful for nursing mothers!

20 Pray that you will not have to escape in winter or on the Sabbath day.

21 There will be terrible suffering in those days. It will be worse than any other from the beginning of the world until now. And there will never be anything like it again.

22 If the time had not been cut short, no one would live. But because of God's chosen people, it will be shortened.

23 "At that time someone may say to you, 'Look! Here is the Christ!' Or, 'There he is!' Do not believe it.

24 False Christs and false prophets will appear. They will do great signs and miracles. They will try to fool God's chosen people if possible.

25 See, I have told you ahead of time.

26 "So if anyone tells you, 'He is far out in the desert,' do not go out there. Or if anyone says, 'He is deep inside the house,' do not believe it.

27 Lightning that comes from the east can be seen in the west. It will be the same when the Son of Man comes.

28 The vultures will gather wherever there is a dead body.