11 And the voice of the Lord came to Moses out of the Tent of meeting, saying, 2 Give these orders to the children of Israel: When anyone of you makes an offering to the Lord, you are to take it from the cattle, from the herd or from the flock.
3 If the offering is a burned offering of the herd, let him give a male without a mark: he is to give it at the door of the Tent of meeting so that he may be pleasing to the Lord. 4 And he is to put his hand on the head of the burned offering and it will be taken for him, to take away his sin. 5 And the ox is to be put to death before the Lord: then Aaron's sons, the priests, are to take the blood and put some of it on and round the altar which is at the door of the Tent of meeting. 6 And the burned offering is to be skinned and cut up into its parts. 7 And Aaron's sons, the priests, are to put fire on the altar and put the wood in order on the fire: 8 And Aaron's sons, the priests, are to put the parts, the head and the fat, in order on the wood which is on the fire on the altar: 9 But its inside parts and its legs are to be washed with water, and it will all be burned on the altar by the priest for a burned offering, an offering made by fire, for a sweet smell to the Lord.
10 And if his offering is of the flock, a burned offering of sheep or goats, let him give a male without a mark. 11 And he is to put it to death on the north side of the altar before the Lord: and Aaron's sons, the priests, are to put some of the blood on and round the altar. 12 And the offering is to be cut into its parts, with its head and its fat; and the priest is to put them in order on the wood which is on the fire on the altar: 13 But the inside parts and the legs are to be washed with water; and the priest will make an offering of all of it, burning it on the altar: it is a burned offering, an offering made by fire, for a sweet smell to the Lord. 14 And if his offering to the Lord is a burned offering of birds, then he is to make his offering of doves or of young pigeons. 15 And the priest is to take it to the altar, and after its head has been twisted off, it is to be burned on the altar, and its blood drained out on the side of the altar: 16 And he is to take away its stomach, with its feathers, and put it down by the east side of the altar, where the burned waste is put: 17 And let it be broken open at the wings, but not cut in two; and let it be burned on the altar by the priest on the wood which is on the fire; it is a burned offering; an offering made by fire for a sweet smell to the Lord.
21 And when anyone makes a meal offering to the Lord, let his offering be of the best meal, with oil on it and perfume: 2 And let him take it to Aaron's sons, the priests; and having taken in his hand some of the meal and of the oil, with all the perfume, let him give it to the priest to be burned on the altar, as a sign, an offering made by fire, for a sweet smell to the Lord. 3 And the rest of the meal offering will be for Aaron and his sons; it is most holy among the Lord's fire offerings. 4 And when you give a meal offering cooked in the oven, let it be of unleavened cakes of the best meal mixed with oil, or thin unleavened cakes covered with oil. 5 And if you give a meal offering cooked on a flat plate, let it be of the best meal, unleavened and mixed with oil. 6 Let it be broken into bits, and put oil on it; it is a meal offering. 7 And if your offering is of meal cooked in fat over the fire, let it be made of the best meal mixed with oil. 8 And you are to give the meal offering made of these things to the Lord, and let the priest take it to the altar. 9 And he is to take from the meal offering a part, for a sign, burning it on the altar; an offering made by fire for a sweet smell to the Lord. 10 And the rest of the meal offering will be for Aaron and his sons; it is most holy among the Lord's fire offerings.
11 No meal offering which you give to the Lord is to be made with leaven; no leaven or honey is to be burned as an offering made by fire to the Lord. 12 You may give them as an offering of first-fruits to the Lord, but they are not to go up as a sweet smell on the altar. 13 And every meal offering is to be salted with salt; your meal offering is not to be without the salt of the agreement of your God: with all your offerings give salt. 14 And if you give a meal offering of first-fruits to the Lord, give, as your offering of first-fruits, new grain, made dry with fire, crushed new grain. 15 And put oil on it and perfume: it is a meal offering. 16 And part of the meal of the offering and part of the oil and all the perfume is to be burned for a sign by the priest: it is an offering made by fire to the Lord.
31 And if his offering is given for a peace-offering; if he gives of the herd, male or female, let him give it without any mark on it, before the Lord. 2 And he is to put his hand on the head of his offering and put it to death at the door of the Tent of meeting; and Aaron's sons, the priests, are to put some of the blood on and round the altar. 3 And he is to give of the peace-offering, as an offering made by fire to the Lord; the fat covering the inside parts and all the fat on the inside parts, 4 And the two kidneys, and the fat on them, which is by the top part of the legs, and the fat joining the liver and the kidneys, he is to take away; 5 That it may be burned by Aaron's sons on the altar, on the burned offering which is on the wood on the fire: it is an offering made by fire of a sweet smell to the Lord.
6 And if what he gives for a peace-offering to the Lord is of the flock, let him give a male or female, without any mark on it. 7 If his offering is a lamb, then let it be placed before the Lord: 8 And he is to put his hand on the head of his offering and put it to death before the Tent of meeting; and Aaron's sons are to put some of its blood on and round the altar. 9 And of the peace-offering, let him give an offering made by fire to the Lord; the fat of it, all the fat tail, he is to take away near the backbone; and the fat covering the inside parts and all the fat on the inside parts, 10 And the two kidneys, with the fat on them, which is by the top part of the legs, and the fat joining the liver and the kidneys, he is to take away; 11 That it may be burned by the priest on the altar; it is the food of the offering made by fire to the Lord. 12 And if his offering is a goat, then let it be placed before the Lord, 13 And let him put his hand on the head of it and put it to death before the Tent of meeting; and the sons of Aaron are to put some of its blood on and round the altar. 14 And of it let him make his offering, an offering made by fire to the Lord; the fat covering the inside parts and all the fat on the inside parts, 15 And the two kidneys, with the fat on them, which is by the top part of the legs, and the fat joining the liver and the kidneys, let him take away; 16 That it may be burned by the priest on the altar; it is the food of the offering made by fire for a sweet smell: all the fat is the Lord's. 17 Let it be an order for ever, through all your generations, in all your houses, that you are not to take fat or blood for food.
241 And Jesus went out of the Temple, and on the way his disciples came to him, pointing out the buildings of the Temple. 2 But he, answering, said to them, See you not all these things? truly I say to you that here there will not be one stone resting on another, which will not be pulled down. 3 And while he was seated on the Mountain of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, Make clear to us, when will these things be? and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the world?
4 And Jesus said to them in answer, Take care that you are not tricked. 5 For people will come in my name, saying, I am the Christ; and a number will be turned from the true way through them. 6 And news will come to you of wars and talk of wars: do not be troubled, for these things have to be; but it is still not the end. 7 For nation will be moved against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and men will be without food, and the earth will be shaking in different places; 8 But all these things are the first of the troubles. 9 Then they will be cruel to you, and will put you to death: and you will be hated by all nations because of my name. 10 And numbers of people will be turned from the right way, and will give one another up and have hate for one another. 11 And a number of false prophets will come, causing error. 12 And because wrongdoing will be increased, the love of most people will become cold. 13 But he who goes through to the end will get salvation. 14 And this good news of the kingdom will be given through all the world for a witness to all nations; and then the end will come. 15 When, then, you see in the holy place the unclean thing which makes destruction, of which word was given by Daniel the prophet (let this be clear to the reader), 16 Then let those who are in Judaea go in flight to the mountains: 17 Let not him who is on the house-top go down to take anything out of his house: 18 And let not him who is in the field go back to get his coat. 19 But it will be hard for women who are with child and for those with babies at the breast in those days. 20 And say a prayer that your flight may not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath. 21 Because in those days there will be great sorrow, such as there has not been from the start of the world till now, or ever will be. 22 And if those days had not been made short there would have been no salvation for any, but because of the saints those days will be made short. 23 Then if any man says to you, See, here is the Christ, or, Here; do not put faith in him; 24 For there will come up false Christs, and false prophets, who will do great signs and wonders; so that if possible even the saints might be tricked. 25 See, I have made it clear to you before it comes about. 26 If, then, they say to you, See, he is in the waste land; go not out: See, he is in the inner rooms; put no faith in it. 27 Because as in a thunderstorm the bright light coming from the east is seen even in the west; so will be the coming of the Son of man. 28 Wherever the dead body is, there will the eagles come together.
(Read Matthew 24:1-3)
Christ foretells the utter ruin and destruction coming upon the temple. A believing foresight of the defacing of all worldly glory, will help to keep us from admiring it, and overvaluing it. The most beautiful body soon will be food for worms, and the most magnificent building a ruinous heap. See ye not all these things? It will do us good so to see them as to see through them, and see to the end of them. Our Lord having gone with his disciples to the Mount of Olives, he set before them the order of the times concerning the Jews, till the destruction of Jerusalem; and as to men in general till the end of the world.
(Read Matthew 24:4-28)
The disciples had asked concerning the times, When these things should be? Christ gave them no answer to that; but they had also asked, What shall be the sign? This question he answers fully. The prophecy first respects events near at hand, the destruction of Jerusalem, the end of the Jewish church and state, the calling of the Gentiles, and the setting up of Christ's kingdom in the world; but it also looks to the general judgment; and toward the close, points more particularly to the latter. What Christ here said to his disciples, tended more to promote caution than to satisfy their curiosity; more to prepare them for the events that should happen, than to give a distinct idea of the events. This is that good understanding of the times which all should covet, thence to infer what Israel ought to do. Our Saviour cautions his disciples to stand on their guard against false teachers. And he foretells wars and great commotions among nations. From the time that the Jews rejected Christ, and he left their house desolate, the sword never departed from them. See what comes of refusing the gospel. Those who will not hear the messengers of peace, shall be made to hear the messengers of war. But where the heart is fixed, trusting in God, it is kept in peace, and is not afraid. It is against the mind of Christ, that his people should have troubled hearts, even in troublous times. When we looked forward to the eternity of misery that is before the obstinate refusers of Christ and his gospel, we may truly say, The greatest earthly judgments are but the beginning of sorrows. It is comforting that some shall endure even to the end. Our Lord foretells the preaching of the gospel in all the world. The end of the world shall not be till the gospel has done its work. Christ foretells the ruin coming upon the people of the Jews; and what he said here, would be of use to his disciples, for their conduct and for their comfort. If God opens a door of escape, we ought to make our escape, otherwise we do not trust God, but tempt him. It becomes Christ's disciples, in times of public trouble, to be much in prayer: that is never out of season, but in a special manner seasonable when we are distressed on every side. Though we must take what God sends, yet we may pray against sufferings; and it is very trying to a good man, to be taken by any work of necessity from the solemn service and worship of God on the sabbath day. But here is one word of comfort, that for the elect's sake these days shall be made shorter than their enemies designed, who would have cut all off, if God, who used these foes to serve his own purpose, had not set bounds to their wrath. Christ foretells the rapid spreading of the gospel in the world. It is plainly seen as the lightning. Christ preached his gospel openly. The Romans were like an eagle, and the ensign of their armies was an eagle. When a people, by their sin, make themselves as loathsome carcasses, nothing can be expected but that God should send enemies to destroy them. It is very applicable to the day of judgment, the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in that day, 2 Thessalonians 2:1. Let us give diligence to make our calling and election sure; then may we know that no enemy or deceiver shall ever prevail against us.
