Should believers today take a lamb on Passover and perform the Passover with all its' laws and ordinances, including the blood on the doorposts, etc., or not?

Answer From The Annual Reading Schedule - Week 16 Notes For Exodus: Should we? If we could do it lawfully, then yes, but if we cannot do it according to the way Yahweh wants it done, then no – it's not actually even permitted. In fact, it is actually a sin if you do the literal Exodus 12 Passover the wrong way. So the short answer is, "We should, but we can't". What Scriptures prove that there are circumstances where it is not lawful? See three examples next to i, ii, and iii:

Three Circumstances Where Eating The Passover Is Unlawful

Exodus 12:48 says, "let no uncircumcised eat of it". This shows that it is not lawful for a man who is not physically circumcised to eat a physical Exodus 12 Passover lamb or goat.

Numbers 9:6 says, "there were men who were defiled for a being of a man, so that they were not able to perform the Passover on that day". This shows that it is not lawful for anyone who is defiled because of a dead body to do the literal Exodus 12 Passover at all until they get cleansed (which requires a Temple to be standing and functioning priests). Things that could cause someone to be defiled include what we see in Numbers 19, which includes:
1. Numbers 19:11 – Touching a dead body at any point ever in your life, since we have no Temple to do the physical cleansing of Numbers 19 with the physical red heifer ashes.
2. Numbers 19:16 – Walking on a grave at any time in your life (like if you went to a funeral at a cemetery, you probably did this before).
3. Numbers 19:14 – In a room with an open casket and a dead body, like for a funeral showing indoors. Almost everyone has done this before.
The men in Numbers 9:6 could not do the Passover in the first month because they were defiled due to reasons which we learn about later in Numbers 19 – related to a dead body. Numbers 19 makes it very clear that if you did not use the literal physical red heifer ashes to be cleansed, then you are still considered physically unclean. Without a Temple and the sons of Aharon (Aaron) functioning again, we have no possible way to get cleansed according to the Torah, and we are prohibited, just like the men in Numbers 9, from doing the Passover. They were only permitted to do the Passover in the second month because between the first month and second month they would have gone through the cleansing process using the red heifer ashes as mentioned in Numbers 19.

Almost everyone has either been to a funeral where they were in a room with a dead body or walked on a grave at a cemetery, so that automatically disqualifies them from taking part in killing or eating a physical lamb or goat for observance of the Exodus 12 Passover. They are in the exact same status as the men in Numbers 9 who "were not able" to do it. It's not that they shouldn't, it's that they couldn't until they were cleansed, so you can't either until you are cleansed with red heifer ashes if you have been defiled due to a dead body. We are not able. We need a physical temple standing to have physical red heifer ashes to physically do a physical cleansing to eat a physical lamb or goat. We are cleansed in Messiah, but that does not mean there is no such thing as physical uncleanness. Physical uncleanness still exists (just like a woman is unclean physically in her time of her period and therefore can't have relations with her husband). So there is no lawful way for someone defiled by a dead body to eat a physical lamb or goat for Exodus 12 today, because there is no Temple standing to go through the red heifer ashes cleansing process.

This lines up with 2 Chronicles:

2 Chronicles 30:18 "For many of the people, many from Ephrayim (Ephraim) and Menashsheh (Manasseh), Yissaskhar (Issachar) and Zevulun (Zebulun), had not been cleansed, yet they ate the Passover contrary to what was written. But Chizqiyahu (Hezekiah) prayed for them, saying, "Yahweh who is good, provide atonement for everyone"

So we see in 2 Chronicles, it is possible to actually be sinning by eating the physical Exodus 12 Passover lamb or goat. He had to pray for Yahweh to provide atonement, which shows this was a sin, because they ate the Passover "contrary to what was written" – that means you must only eat it if you can do so lawfully, according to the exact way Yahweh wants it done. If you don't do it right, this shows you can actually be sinning by doing it. So if you aren't cleansed yet, and you were at a funeral where you were in a room with a dead body or walked on a grave, etc. then you can't do it until a Temple is standing and the red heifer ashes are available for you to be cleansed properly according to what is written. For additional notes related to Numbers 9 and 19, refer to the reading notes for Week 33 of the Annual Reading Schedule.

This is similar to how we partake of the body and blood of Yahushua. 1 Corinthians 11 warns us to examine ourself before we partake of the body and blood of Yahushua. In a sense, we must be sure we have been "cleansed" through self-examination. So it's possible that the physical requirement to be physically cleansed before eating the physical Passover is a shadow of how we must examine ourself before we partake of the body and blood of Yahushua in the form of the unleavened bread and fruit of the vine (which is another Passover Service, because there are multiple Passovers, not just one).
Exodus 12:27 gives us additional evidence that we cannot do the literal lamb or goat commands according to Yahweh‘s laws until a Temple is standing. We can't just look at one part of the law; we have to look at all the requirements.

The Hebrew of Exodus 12:27 states the following:

וַאֲמַרְתֶּם זֶבַח־פֶּסַחֲ הוּא לַיהוָה אֲשֶׁר פָּסַח עַל־בָּתֵּי בְנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּמִצְרַיִם בְּנָגְפּוֹ אֶת־מִצְרַיִם וְאֶת־בָּתֵּינוּ הִצִּיל וַיִּקֹּד הָעָם וַיִּשְׁתַּחֲוּוּ׃

Notice the phrase in red: זֶבַח-פֶּסַח

This is "Zevach-Pesach" in Hebrew.

This is literally, "Offering-Passover" or "Thing.of.Sacrifice-Passover"
The English should read either:

"then you shall say, 'It is the Passover offering of Yahweh…"

"then you shall say, 'It is the Passover thing of sacrifice of Yahweh…"

Sadly, the ISR Scriptures 1998 version and possibly other versions originating from the ISR have mistranslated the word "Zevach" as "slaughtering". This mistranslation may be one of the contributing factors to why a proper understanding of the Passover according to Yahweh's law had eluded me for a few years.

I say "eluded me" because I actually took part in two Passover services at two different years, earlier on in my walk, where we did kill a lamb at one and a goat at another, and did our best to do the literal Exodus 12 Passover, including blood on the doorposts, etc.. I certainly learned a lot about Exodus 12 during that time. However, during a time period later when I wasn't able to do a literal Exodus 12 Passover due to circumstances out of my control, I believe it was during that time that Yahweh revealed to me that I wasn't actually supposed to have done what I did.

One of the first times I started realizing this was when I was on a bus wearing gloves to protect myself from possibly becoming unclean by touching other things. Sometime around then it had struck me, that wait, it's good I'm being cautious to obey the laws, but I realized I think I had violated the laws of the Passover and had actually sinned by not doing the Passover the right way. That's when I realized the prohibition against doing it before the cleansing of the red heifer ashes.

Then later in my walk, I found this translation error of the ISR Scriptures 1998 version. I was very, very, very disappointed. I had always thought, "Oh, I'm not doing a ‘sacrifice', you know that's for the priests to do, I'm just ‘slaughtering' the Passover like it says, to obey the commands." No – no and No. Wrong. And this is where correct Bible translation becomes key.

To "slaughter" an animal is a generalized term for killing it. If I owned a flock of goats or sheep and I wanted to eat some meat, I could go out and pick one from the flock and slaughter it by slicing the throat, skinning it, and roasting it, and lawfully eat the meat from that animal. That is not an "offering" or a "sacrifice", it is merely slaughtering an animal, and as long as the blood is poured on the ground and I don't eat certain parts of the animal prohibited (e.g. fat), then it is lawful to do.

Other than the tithe and the first-born of the flocks, which have specific laws, there are no requirements to take every single animal that has been slaughtered to a priest and have blood sprinkled on an altar for every single animal, etc.. Otherwise, that would mean that someone living in northern Yisra'el in ancient times would never be able to slaughter and enjoy meat from their flock of animals except during feast time, which I do not believe is what was commanded.

So, what was the lamb or goat in Exodus 12 considered? It was not just considered to be a "slaughtering", but according to Exodus 12:27, a "Zevach" (according to the Hebrew) – an offering, a thing of sacrifice. This is an important distinction because every "Zevach" has certain laws that must be followed for that "Zevach".

If we are supposed to do these other laws for the Exodus 12 Passover, like having priests sprinkle blood on the altar, why don't we see them doing that in Exodus 12? The simple answer is because the Levitical Priesthood of the Sons of Aharon did not exist yet at the time of the first Passover. It was not until they were in the wilderness that Yahweh made them into priests and gave additional laws for sacrifices. Once those laws were given, however, those laws for sacrifices apply to all future sacrifices, and retroactively get added to the requirements of Exodus 12 since Exodus 12:27 says that it is indeed a sacrifice!

2 Chronicles 35:11 and they slaughtered the Passover. And the priests sprinkled out of their hands, while the Lewites were skinning.

We cannot deny that the Exodus 12 animal is a sacrifice, so all sacrificial laws get applied to it also. This is why we see priests involved sprinkling the blood in later Passovers like 2 Chronicles 35:11. In addition to saving some blood to put on the doorposts for the Exodus 12 observance, the priests were required to take some of the blood also and sprinkle it on the altar, because it is a sacrifice. This is why the word "Zevach" in Exodus 12:27 is so critical to understand. It changes everything. It makes the difference between us killing an animal vs. not killing it.

So what are the "laws of the Zevach"? I've already mentioned one, but let's look at a few in more detail:

Three Laws Which Apply To All Sacrifices

Law #1 of the Zevach – You Can't Do It Just Wherever You Want

Deuteronomy 12:5-6 "but seek the place which Yahweh your Elohiym chooses, out of all your tribes, to put His Name there, for His Dwelling Place, and there you shall enter. And there you shall take your burnt offerings, and your offerings, and your tithes, and the contributions of your hand, and your vowed offerings, and your voluntary offerings, and the firstlings of your herd and of your flock."

The word "offerings" in red in verse 6 above is from "Zevach". In the Hebrew this is conjugated as זִבְחֵיכֶם "Zivcheykhem". It is clear that this is one of the general laws that applies to all of the "Zevach" of the children of Yisra'el – which inherently must include the Passover Zevach as well. There is no exception here made for certain "Zevach" to not be brought to the Dwelling Place of Yahweh.

Deuteronomy 12:11 "And it shall be, that unto the place which Yahweh your Elohiym chooses to make His Name dwell there, there you are to bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings, and your offerings, and your tithes, and the contributions of your hand, and all your choice offerings which you vow to Yahweh"

Again, the word offerings in the above verse is from Zevach also and this is additional confirmation that the "Zevach" were required by law to be brought to a specific place to be slaughtered, not just slaughtered in everyone's backyard.

That is not to say that the people weren't the ones who did the slaughtering for the Pesach Zevach, because it does appear according to 2 Chronicles 30:17 that under normal circumstances, the assembly, that is, the normal lay people, were the ones who did the actual slaughtering. The only reason the Lewites did it in 2 Chronicles 30 is because the people were unable. But that doesn't mean that the priests, the sons of Aharon, had no part normally. So, what part did the priests have?

Law # 2 of the Zevach – Priests (Sons of Aharon) Must Sprinkle The Blood

Leviticus 17:5-6 "in order that the children of Yisra'el bring their slaughterings which they slaughter in the open field. And they shall bring them to Yahweh at the door of the Tent of meeting, to the priest, and slaughter them as peace offerings to Yahweh. And the priest shall sprinkle the blood on the altar of Yahweh at the door of the Tent of Meeting, and shall burn the fat for a sweet fragrance to Yahweh."

The phrase "their slaughterings" is how the ISR 1998 translates this phrase, but the King James Version (KJV) correctly translates this as "their sacrifices". This phrase "their sacrifices" in the KJV is from the same Hebrew word "Zevach". In the Hebrew, it is conjugated here as זִבְחֵיהֶם "Zivcheyhem". Although the context of this is not specifically talking about the "Passover", it is showing an example of the treatment given to "Zevach" in general, because it shows that "Zevach" were to have blood sprinkled on the altar of Yahweh. I am not saying that people who have done home Passover services are "slaughtering to demons". That's not the point of me bringing up this verse. The point is to show that "Zevach" did have blood sprinkled on the altar. Let's continue examining "Zevach".

Deuteronomy 12:27 "And you shall make your burnt offerings, the meat and the blood, on the altar of Yahweh your Elohiym. And the blood of your offerings is poured out on the altar of Yahweh your Elohiym, and you eat the meat."

Question: What blood is required to be poured out on the altar?

וְדַם־זְבָחֶיךָ "we'dam-Zevacheykha"

And.Blood-Your.Offerings
Answer: The Blood of All Zevach!

I put that in big letters to point out, this is yet another "law of the Zevach". All Zevach must have the blood poured out on the altar of Yahweh. Obviously some blood might also be poured on the ground, but some of the blood also is required to be poured out on the altar. There is no exception here given for the "Pesach Zevach", therefore it applies to that Zevach also. Who would pour out the blood on the altar? That seems to me that would be a priestly duty of the Sons of Aharon. So for the Exodus 12 Passover, not only would you put some blood on the doorposts and lintel, but you would also have to have some of the blood given for the priests to sprinkle the blood on the altar. Both must be done for Exodus 12.

Law # 3 of the Zevach – Priests Must Get The Shoulder, Cheeks, & Stomach

Deuteronomy 18:3 "And this is the priest's right from the people, from those who bring an offering, whether it is bull or sheep: they shall give to the priest the shoulder, and the two cheeks, and the stomach;"

By now, you could guess the above red highlighted word "offering" is from "Zevach" and in fact in the Hebrew it is הַזֶּבַח "Haz'Zevach" in this verse – "The Offering/Thing of Sacrifice". This is the third law I have found for all "Zevach" – the "law of the priests' right". So the priest, that is the sons of Aharon, specifically have a right to the shoulder, the two cheeks, and the stomach from all Zevach.

In summary, the three "laws of the Zevach" I have found include the following:

Zevach must be slaughtered specifically where Yahweh chooses, not just in your own backyard.
Zevach must have blood sprinkled/poured on the altar of Yahweh (not just the ground only in your backyard)
Zevach must have the shoulder, two cheeks, and the stomach given to the Sons of Aharon as it is their right by law.

I cannot see any exception given that would exclude the Pesach Zevach from these three laws. I do believe we should do the Exodus 12 Passover, but I also believe that to do so would require these three laws of the Zevach to be followed as well. Therefore, without an official altar of Yahweh and Aharonic priests, we cannot yet. Until there is a Temple, Sons of Aharon functioning, and an official Altar of Yahweh, then it is not lawful for us to do any sacrifices. Once these things exist, then it is lawful. However, the only place it would be lawful would be in Yerushalayim where the temple would be standing so the blood can be sprinkled, etc..

For us to lawfully do the Exodus 12 Passover literally and physically, we must:

Have a Temple standing.
Have the Sons of Aharon functioning as Priests.
Everyone been cleansed with red heifer ashes, etc. who was previously defiled due to a dead body, grave, open casket indoors, etc..
All males physically circumcised if they want to eat a physical lamb or goat.
Have the animal sacrificed, cooked as Exodus 12 requires, and the priest would then do their part of sprinkling the blood and taking the cooked shoulder, cheeks, and stomach.
Some of the blood would be taken back home along with meat by the people. The people would then put some of the blood on the doorposts and lintels, go inside with the meat for the evening, have the Exodus 12 Passover meal, and stay inside all night as Exodus 12 requires. This is exactly what the disciples of Yahushua did the night after he died. The night he was with them, they didn't do the Exodus 12 Passover – they took the Passover of Yahushua, which is the body and blood of Yahushua himself who is also the Passover Lamb. When they took the unleavened bread and fruit of the vine, they were partaking of Yahushua and so that is the Passover they took that night. However, they also did the Exodus 12 Passover the following night. The Passover they did with unleavened bread and fruit of the vine was a different Passover, because there are multiple Passovers. Passover can refer to multiple things at multiple times, not just one thing at one time. See the Biblical Calendar study for more details on the various meanings of the word "Passover".

Exodus 12:24-25 states that you guard this word for a law for you and your sons forever, and verses 26-27 are explaining how to explain the offering to your sons in the future as well. We see this continuation of the Exodus 12 Passover services in places like 2 Kings 23, 2 Chronicles 30, 35, and Ezra 6. I have done this before on two occasions, once with a lamb and once with a goat, earlier on when I first came into this walk, but I no longer do this because I believe Yahweh has shown me evidence of why this is actually not lawful until there is a Temple standing.

Don't run off and get a lamb or goat; you may be doing something unlawful if you are not qualified to perform the service or if you cannot fulfill all the laws of the Zevach. Read and study for yourself all the requirements. Until there is a Temple standing and functioning priests, we cannot do physical cleansing of the red heifer ashes, and we cannot do physical animal sacrifices, and therefore we cannot do a physical, literal Exodus 12 Passover with the lamb or goat. We can do the other parts though like the bitter herbs and unleavened bread though.

I also do a separate service for the Passover the night before partaking of the body and blood of Yahushua as well with a foot washing ceremony. In addition, you'll find when you read the above linked Biblical Calendar study that Deuteronomy 16 is actually another, third Passover as well at a different time with different animals permitted. Lastly, to help you realize there are multiple Passovers, consider that Yahushua and His disciples did not go to the Temple to have priests sprinkle blood, they did not stay inside all night, and John 18:28 shows the Exodus 12 Passover had not yet been eaten. The only Passover eaten the night before was the Passover of Yahushua, partaking of the body and blood of Yahushua. There was no lamb or goat. The Scriptures ISR version, and others from it, have mis-translated Mark 14:12, and one of the errors is that they added the word "lamb" which is not there. There are other issues, but that's beyond the scope of this document.

So don't do a literal lamb or goat for Exodus 12 until a temple is standing and you can do it lawfully. We should do it, but we can't.... not yet. (Please also see the Passover Summary video which covers some things that might not be mentioned in these notes also).