DR. IVAN PANIN

RUSSIA'S GIFT TO CHRISTIANITY

As we attempt to capture the essence of this remarkable man and his enormous contribution to the cause of Christ, a sense of frustration is immediately encountered because of unyielding constraints the need for brevity forces upon us. Many books have been devoted to what we must condense, but we encourage the reader to further investigate the discoveries of Dr. Panin through that which has been written by him and about him. (Book list and ordering information available in the appendix)

Ivan Panin was born in Russia on December 12, 1855 and as a young man he was an active Nihilist. one who was so "turned off" by the inane circumstances surrounding him that he adopted the attitude that all values were worthless and nothing was knowable or communicable. He apparently detested the Czarist government so much that he participated in various plots against it and eventually was forced into political exile. From there he moved to Germany where he spent a number of years furthering his education. When he left Germany he immigrated to the United States and soon entered Harvard University where he became the personal friend of both the famous professor William James and the University' s President Eliot.

Mr. Panin was a brilliant scholar and a Master of Literary Criticism. After graduating from college he became an outstanding lecturer on the subject of literary criticism and toured the country speaking on Carlyle, Emerson, Tolstoy, Russian literature, etc.. receiving up "top dollar" for each address, which shows us the caliber of his talent. His lectures were delivered on college campuses and to exclusive literary clubs in many cities of the United States and Canada. And during those years of travel and exposure to the public, Mr. Panin became widely known as a confirmed agnostic. so well known, in fact, that when he renounced agnosticism and embraced Jesus Christ, several newspapers carried banner headlines announcing his conversion! Upon hearing of this remarkable turn of events, Professor James, who was reputed to be the greatest Metaphysician of his day remarked, "What a pity that Mr. Panin is cracked on religion. A great philosopher was spoiled in him."

Prior to his life-changing encounter with Jesus Christ, Mr. Panin wrote some three thousand aphorisms (brief statements of principle) and many outstanding essays, which stand today as a memorial to his days as a Master of Literary Criticism. He also was an editor of two daily newspapers, a gifted writer, and an eloquent speaker.

What event made this brilliant and gifted man. one firmly convinced that absolute truth ("God") was unknowable. change his mind? What so challenged his intellect and shook him to the very core of his being, that he was left with no alternative but belief in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior? The answer is this: He made THE SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY THAT SHOULD HAVE SHAKEN THE ENTIRE WORLD! (The fact that it has not yet done so and has been quietly disregarded by those who should have been its greatest advocates, is one of the great mysteries of our time!)

One day in 1890, Mr. Panin was casually reading the first verse of the Gospel of John in the original Koine Greek. This verse, in the original, says: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with the God, and the Word was God." And as he read this sentence, his curiosity was stirred by the fact that the definite article "the" preceded "God" in the first instance, but not the second. Why the difference? To analyze this apparent discrepancy, he made a parallel list of all verses in the New Testament in which the word "God" occurs with the article "the" and all those without it. Then when he compared the two lists he noted that there was a mathematical relationship between the two sums. Next, he went through the same procedure for the word "Christ" and on through several other words. each time taking note of the amazing numeric relationships hidden beneath the surface of the text. This "chance" observation would later prove to have been a life-changing event as Ivan Panin enthusiastically pursued the newly-found and exciting discovery he later named "Bible Numerics."

As these discoveries began to unfold, one after another, Mr. Panin quickly came to the realization that they were far more than just coincidence. There was a mathematical precision inherent to the entire Bible that no mere mortal could have devised and his intellectual objections relative to an unknowable God were overruled! Jesus Christ revealed Himself through His Word to this "chosen vessel" and, like the apostle Paul and a host of others, Ivan Panin was never the same man again.

From that day in 1890 until he died on October 30, 1942, Ivan Panin literally devoted his life (over 50 years) to fully developing this discovery and preserving it for the world. It is said of him that he worked tirelessly for 12-18 hours each day counting letters and words, compiling hand-written concordances, and working out mathematical problems. He worked with such zeal that on several occasions his health completely failed. But in spite of the tremendous mental and physical strain this placed upon him, he labored without pay, giving himself entirely to this labor of love. At one point he was offered the very tempting position as president of a college, but he turned it down trusting God to provide for his needs. This man whom the world would gladly pay "top dollar" for a lecture, chose a life of frugality in order to serve his Master by counting words, letters, syllables, and Bible numbers. preserving his findings in neat, hand-written notes now yellowed with age. all 40,000+ pages of them!

The following is a description of Dr. Panin by Mr. Karl Sabiers, in his book "Mathematics Prove Holy Scriptures." It was originally published in 1941, while Mr. Panin was still alive:

"This distinguished person is a man of extra-ordinary resources in scholarship. He is keen-minded and alert and possesses amazing analytical and dissecting ability. He is eminently open and scientific. He assumes nothing, but bases all on observed facts. facts of a positive, irrefutable, unparalleled sort. He pursues his way with calmness and is positive of the ground he covers. He is a complete master of himself and of the facts at his command.

"Mr. Panin is an ardent and devout Christian. a 'born again' child of God. His pleasing personality radiates the abiding presence of the Christ within. This refined gentleman and his lovely wife live quiet, humble lives on a small Canadian farm, far removed from the busy city activities. Mr. Panin is very modest and conservative. He prefers to be called Mr. Panin rather than Dr. Panin, and is reluctant about publicizing facts concerning his own life story. He points out that the Apostles left little or no life stories of themselves, but exalted Christ instead. Incidentally, Mr. Panin is a citizen of the United States."