David Morrieson Panton
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David Morrieson Panton (D. M. Panton) (9 April 1870 – 20 May 1955) was the
pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...
of Surrey Chapel, Norwich, England, where he succeeded Robert Govett. He was the editor (1924–55) of ''The Dawn Magazine'', a writer of books and numerous tracts, and a British leader among those pursuing
Prophetic In religion, mythology, and fiction, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a ''prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain divin ...
studies.


Early days

Panton was born in
Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
in 1870. There, his father was the first
Archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denomina ...
and a
missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...
of the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
. An uncle had been the Archbishop of the West Indies. Panton came to England in 1885 and was educated at the Old Hall School,
Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...
, for two years, then at St Lawrence's School,
Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town and civil parish in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in eastern Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2021 it had a population of 42,027. Ramsgate' ...
, where he spent another two years. He attended
Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, commonly known as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348 by Edmund Gonville, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges an ...
, where he studied
law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...
with a view to becoming a
barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...
. In his college days, Panton was influenced by one of his tutors, Labarestier, who came from Jersey. It was from him Panton first heard of the doctrines of the coming Kingdom and the Glory of Christ, during the last thousand years of earth's existence ( The Millennium). Panton, also, came to accept the view there were conditions, which disciples had to fulfil in order to share this special reign ("Selective Rapture"). The immediate consequence was Panton's acceptance of baptism by total immersion, which caused him to leave the Church of England and become an "undenominational" Christian. Panton remained unaffiliated for most of his life, though later he did bring his Church into membership of the
Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches The Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches (FIEC) is a network of 661 independent evangelical churches in the United Kingdom. FIEC exists to help "Independent churches work together to reach Britain for Christ". Governance The FIEC st ...
.


Pastor of Surrey Chapel, Norwich

In 1901, Panton was called to take up the pastoral duties at Surrey Chapel, Norwich, succeeding Robert Govett, who had died in February that year and whose teaching he had come to accept from his days at Cambridge. Panton had become acquainted with the Church through doing seven months duties as an
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to Govett in the 1890s. Panton came to have a close bond with his congregation, in the same way his predecessor had. Panton had a gracious and dignified personality, but also sought to bring all matters of doctrine to the plain exposition of Scripture. Like his predecessor he took a "literalistic" view of Scripture – particularly in
eschatology Eschatology (; ) concerns expectations of the end of Contemporary era, present age, human history, or the world itself. The end of the world or end times is predicted by several world religions (both Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic and non-Abrah ...
. During his 24 years of full-time ministry at Surrey Chapel, Norwich, he saw the congregation built up. The Church maintained its
Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...
convictions and Panton saw many conversions, which were followed by baptism and Church membership. In particular Panton's time saw the Sunday School built up to reach a peak of over 600 scholars and 60 teachers and officers. There were also several who volunteered for missionary service, including one worker in China ( Margaret E. Barber) who was influential in the nurturing of
Watchman Nee Watchman Nee, Ni Tuosheng, or Nee T'o-sheng ( zh, t=倪柝聲, p=Ní Tuòshēng; November 4, 1903 – May 30, 1972), was a Chinese church leader and Christian teacher who worked in China during the 20th century. His evangelism was influenced b ...
.


Work as editor

Panton founded and edited a new bi-monthly magazine, ''The Dawn, an Evangelical Magazine'', which first appeared on 15 April 1924. His aim for his magazine was the stimulus, encouragement, and instruction of Christians who believed without reservation in all the Scriptures, and who sought to devote their lives to the highest ends before the return of Christ and the Kingdom. His editorial policy was to keep ''The Dawn'' as a fundamental, evangelistic, missionary, prophetic, dispensational, devotional magazine. This new responsibility heavily taxed the delicate constitution of Panton's health and brought inevitable changes, he retired from full-time ministry at Surrey Chapel, but he agreed to preach for one Sunday in each month. He continued to live within reach of the Church and so was always accessible. He maintained his output of writing the magazine's main article, which was often recycled as a separate tract. Quite often, the monthly
sermon A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons address a scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and present context ...
was taken down in shorthand by a member of his congregation, and appeared as one of the articles in a later edition of the monthly magazine.


His last years

From 1941, Panton resigned completely from Surrey Chapel. As he aged, he felt the mode of the country and the times changed, so there was a reduction in readers of ''The Dawn''. Paternoster took over from Charles Thynne as the publishers for the magazine. Panton died on 20 May 1955; he had prepared the final issue of his magazine, which ceased after his death.


Publications

The volumes of ''The Dawn Magazine'' from 1924 to 1955 contain at least a leading article by Panton – and often more. As well as his own books, tracts and articles, Panton used his magazine to continue to popularise the writings of Robert Govett. Panton's own writings included: *''The Christian Home: Its Sanctity and Joy''. Charles J. Thynne & Jarvis Ltd, London, May 1924. *''Satanic Counterfeits of the Second Advent''. Charles J. Thynne & Jarvis Ltd, London, Jan 1925 econd Edition Revised and Enlarged. Present-Day Pamphlets eries (All published by Charles J. Thynne & Jarvis Ltd, London) *Spiritualism: Its Origin and Character. ("Contemporary spiritism studied in the light of the occult in Scripture"). *The Medium and the Witch. (The roots of
spiritualism Spiritualism may refer to: * Spiritual church movement, a group of Spiritualist churches and denominations historically based in the African-American community * Spiritualism (beliefs), a metaphysical belief that the world is made up of at leas ...
laid bare in world-old and worldwide phenomena). *Irvingism and the Gifts of the Holy Ghost. ("The most plausible of all modern 'tongues' movements examined in the light of a legitimate desire for the supernatural"). *The Advance of Rome. ("A black thunder-cloud revealed on the horizon of the Church of Christ"). *Democracy, Socialism, and the Sermon on the Mount. ("Christian ethics in relation to Socialism and Democracy"). *Gnosticism: The Coming Apostasy (1910, Alfred Holness, London & R L Allan & Son, Glasgow: 2nd Edition, August 1925, Chas J Thynne & Jarvis Ltd, London). ("A study of the occult signs and doctrinal foundations of the Great Apostasy"). *The Judgment Seat of Christ. ("The responsibility of believers as a supplementary truth to their
eternal security Eternal security, also known as "once saved, always saved" is the belief providing Christianity, Christian believers with absolute Assurance (theology), assurance of their final Salvation in Christianity, salvation. Its development, particularly wi ...
in Christ"). 'A Rejoinder on The Judgment Seat of Christ' (A J Tilney, Norwich, 1912 rivate Run. *Christ Risen a Fact. ("The fact of the Resurrection the rock-foundation of the Faith"). *Expiation by Blood. ("Atonement traced and studied as the blood-red heart of the whole Bible"). *Rapture econd edition 1924 ("A problem as urgent and as practical as any that confronts the child of God"). *The Godhead of Jesus. ("Modernism answered by the Scriptures themselves"). Present-day Papers (or Addresses) eries *God's Oil and our Vessels: An Exposition. *Bread for God's People: A Truth for the Times. *The Prayer Battle: God's Arrow of salvation. *On Verbal Inspiration: 'Or One Jot or One Tittle' (Alfred Holness, London, before 1910. *Watchman, What of the Night? *An Outline of the
Apocalypse Apocalypse () is a literary genre originating in Judaism in the centuries following the Babylonian exile (597–587 BCE) but persisting in Christianity and Islam. In apocalypse, a supernatural being reveals cosmic mysteries or the future to a ...
. *The Last Hour of Foreign Missions. *The Letters to the Seven Churches. *Marriage and the Woman Movement. *Sin after Conversion. *Our Seat of Authority. *A Federated Church. *The First resurrection. *Earth's Last Pentecost. *Evolution and the Fall. *The Disciple and the state. *Maranatha (Poems). Perils of the Age, First Series: *Millennial Dawnism. *Christian Science. *Church Amusements. *The Growth of Rome. *Modernism. *Spiritualism. *Test for the Supernatural. *The Seed, The Ox, and the Garment. *The Order of the Star in the East. *God's Terms of Communion. *The Secrets of the Great War. *Universalism. *Spiritualism Inside the Churches. *Earthquakes. Studies in the Types: *The Robes of the High Priest. *The Scarlet Bird. 'Trusting and Toiling' Reprints: *The Springing Fig Tree. *The Re-engrafted Olive. *Babylon and the Jew. *The Uplifted Veil. *Israel and Islam. *The Rebuilding of the Temple. *Democracy and the End. *The Empire of Antichrist. *Universal War. Present-Day Leaflets: *Christ and the Critics. *The Virgin Birth. *Baptism according to God. *The Prize of our Calling. *Counsels for Young Workers. *Prayer. *Rapture and Soul Winning.


See also

*
Jessie Penn-Lewis Jessie Penn-Lewis (28 February 1861 – 15 August 1927, née Jones) was a Welsh evangelical speaker, who wrote several Christian evangelical works. Her religious work took her to Russia, Scandinavia, Canada, the United States and India. Early ...
* G. H. Pember *
John Nelson Darby John Nelson Darby (18 November 1800 – 29 April 1882) was an Anglo-Irish Bible teacher, one of the influential figures among the original Plymouth Brethren and the founder of the Exclusive Brethren. He is considered to be the father of modern ...
*
Plymouth Brethren The Plymouth Brethren or Assemblies of Brethren are a low church and Nonconformist (Protestantism), Nonconformist Christian movement whose history can be traced back to Dublin, Ireland, in the mid to late 1820s, where it originated from Anglica ...


References

*Surrey Chapel Archives (FC 76/59), Norfolk Record Office, Norwich, Norfolk, UK. *Surrey Chapel. Book of Remembrance, 1854-1954 (Booklet for the 100th Anniversary of the Chapel), Norwich, UK, 1954. *Ramsay, George H. "A Brief Memoir of the Late Editor". ''Dawn, an Evangelical Magazine'', Volume 32, No. 374, August 1955. *Codling, Rosamunde. ''150 Years at Surrey Chapel, Norwich 1854-2004'', Norwich, UK.


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Panton, David Morrieson 1870 births 1955 deaths Jamaican emigrants to the United Kingdom Jamaican clergy Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge