LET US continue our study of the Consecrated Epiphany Campers:

ZELOPHEHAD’S DAUGHTERS

Among the descendants of Manasseh is the account of Zelophehad’s daughters, mentioned several places in the Scriptures, pertaining to their obtaining their inheritance in the land. They sought for and finally obtained the inheritance of their father, who died without having any sons (Numbers 27: 1-11; 36). We will consider Zelophehad’s five daughters and their obtaining their inheritance, type and antitype.

Antitypical Zelophehad’s daughters have five distinguishing marks: (1) they are of the humble, Truth-hungry tentatively justified, eventual post-September 16, 1954 Epiphany consecrators and not of the more prominent leaders in the Consecrated Epiphany Campers class, for these leaders are shown separately, as making request before God and Christ in connection with the antitypical daughters’ Kingdom inheritance (Numbers 36: 1-4); (2) they have figurative fathers who have lost at least some important feature of the Truth; (3) they recognize this at least measurably; (4) they seek to do something about the situation – they make special inquiries and petition the Lord, as to the truth on their eternal inheritance; and (5) they become at least Epiphany enlightened, and many of them come into the Epiphany Truth.

Antitypical Zelophehad’s Daughters Inquiries and Petition

This inquiring and petitioning began in the Parousia period. They inquired as to new consecrators and what would be the reward of the non-spirit-begotten consecrated ones who consecrated after the General Call to the High Calling closed in 1881. God’s answer, given by our Lord Jesus through Bro. Russell, was that the close of the call should make no difference, that “consecration is the only reasonable, proper course for the Lord’s people anyway.” This phase of the antitypical petitioning and answering continued until after Bro. Russell’s death.

Thereafter, in the Epiphany period, among brethren in or investigating the Epiphany Truth, these antitypical inquiries and petitions to our Lord as to the inheritance of the post-1954 consecrators began in a special sense to be made after He, through the Epiphany Messenger brought forth the Scriptures pertaining to the Fall of 1954 as the inception, in its initial lapping beginning, of the Basileia (Kingdom) stage of Jesus’ Second Advent; and they continued increasingly after Bro. Johnson set forth from Revelation 22: 11 and other Scriptural considerations the teaching that “after 1954 no Youthful Worthies will be won,” and as 1954 came closer and finally arrived. But the fuller answer to these inquiries and petitions was not then yet given. And especially with newly interested ones this questioning and petitioning has continued ever since and will continue increasingly until at least the end of the Epiphany period in its wider sense.

The Fuller Answer to the Inquiries

In May, 1954, God through our Lord Jesus and under Him the Divinely appointed leader of the Great Company, set before the brethren in general the Epiphany antitype of the Queen of Sheba coming to Solomon (Bro. Johnson, especially in the Truth writings) with perplexing questions and the desire for Divine wisdom. It was there shown that the Queen of Sheba types the Truth-seeking ones who are or are about to become post-1954 Epiphany consecrators, and that, if faithful, they will be given an eternal inheritance in the new earth and have the highest standing among the faithful restitutionists. Thus the fuller answer to the pertinent inquiries and petitions began to be given, showing that the Consecrated Epiphany Campers will have a special eternal inheritance in the earthly phase of the Kingdom; and it continued to be given in further articles.

Subsequent to the close of the Youthful Worthy call in the Fall of 1954 and the special inquiring and petitioning then by antitypical Zelophehad’s daughters, and our Lord’s giving the afore-mentioned fuller answer, many of these humble and earnest Truth-seekers have consecrated, thus becoming Consecrated Epiphany Campers, and have become Epiphany enlightened. A considerable number of them have come into the Epiphany Truth, and many more will do so. But many other post-1954 consecrators have not accepted any of the Epiphany Truth. These miss a great blessing and opportunity for growth in grace and knowledge and for gaining thereby a high place among the Consecrated Epiphany Campers. They are not included in antitypical Zelophehad’s daughters, but are included in the other antitypical families of Gilead, as we shall see.

Gilead’s Families – Type and Antitype 

The ten portions mentioned for all the families of Manasseh who had their inheritance on the west side of the Jordan were for the families of Gilead’s six sons: Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Shemida and Hepher (Numbers 26: 30-32) (Joshua 17: 2). Zelophehad’s daughters were given a goodly share in Hepher’s portion (Joshua 17: 3-6). Please note that the families of the six sons of the man Gilead had their inheritance, not in the land of Gilead (Deuteronomy 3: 13-15) (Joshua 17: 1, 6), which was east of the Jordan, but in the land of Caanan, west of the Jordan (Numbers 26: 30-34) (Joshua 17: 2-6).

Gilead seems to type the entire restitution class of Consecrated Epiphany Campers; and the number ten in the antitypical ten portions of this entire class’s inheritance signifies the number of perfection for natures lower than the Divine. Gilead’s six sons and their families represent six general groups of those who eventually will be of this class, all in connection with receiving their inheritance, seemingly according to the continental areas where they were developed, as follows: Asia, Africa, South America, Australia, Europe and North America. The antitypical families of the first five afore-mentioned sons of Gilead consist of all eventual Consecrated Epiphany Campers except those who are typed by Hepher’s descendants.

Antitypical Zelophehad’s five daughters of all countries are in the finished picture of five gradations, seemingly according to their development in Christlikeness, in an ascending scale, beginning with those among them having the lowest degree of Christlikeness, and continuing up to those who are the most Christlike (Mahlah, weak, or dancing; Noah, wandering; Hoglah, partridge; Milcah, queen; Tizrah, delight). All of these Campers should earnestly seek to develop more and more Christlikeness, and thus gradually to become of the highest development, those who are a special delight to God.

Because of lack of development and having undesirable qualities, and not fighting or not fighting strongly enough against them, some will fail to win out as Consecrated Epiphany Campers and therefore will come up with the restitution class in general. To win out requires faithfulness in fulfilling one’s consecration vows. God will judge each one according to the heart – the development in Christlikeness – and how much ignorance, Adamic weakness and other foes and besetments he or she has steadfastly sought to overcome and how much light has been sinned against willfully.

The more prominent leaders who are Consecrated Epiphany Campers, especially those who are Epiphany enlightened, and who are in the Epiphany Truth, call attention before Jesus as God’s Executive and before other leaders of God’s nominal and real people, to God by His Word enjoining our Lord Jesus to give the promised special inheritance as a part of the pre-Millennial seed to antitypical Zelophehad’s daughters (Numbers 36: 1, 2). The good leaders of the Consecrated Epiphany Campers as undershepherds are properly, in Christian love, very much concerned about these sheep of the Lord and their Christian welfare and promised inheritance, lest these brethren by entering into symbolic marriage, oneness, with the unconsecrated tentatively justified or the unjustified, especially in their selfish and worldly aims, ambitions, teachings and practices, would lose their right to the promised special inheritance as Consecrated Epiphany Campers and fall back into the restitution class in general (Numbers 36: 3, 4). Like Esau, they would be selling their precious birthright for a mess of pottage (Genesis 25: 31-34) (Hebrews 12: 16, 17).

Our Lord commended these leaders for this proper concern for His sheep (Numbers 36: 5). God through our Lord Jesus has always exhorted all of His consecrated people to seek to be filled more and more with His holy spirit (Ephesians 5: 18) – to gain and maintain the highest possible attainment of Christlikeness. Here He gives antitypical Zelophehad’s daughters a special exhortation to be fully at one, in symbolic marriage, only with others of their own kind, in the Lord (Numbers 36: 6), so that thereby they will receive and forever retain and enjoy the fruits of their precious eternal inheritance as spirit-enlightened, non-spirit-begotten consecrated ones (Numbers 36: 5-9). The faithful ones among the Consecrated Epiphany Campers are careful to obey these exhortations.

We exhort all of God’s consecrated people: “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3: 5, 6). Let us all humbly and diligently study God’s Word (1 Thessalonians 5: 21). And may we reach forth our hands in service, “speaking the truth in love (Ephesians 4: 15).