Continuing Reflections on Pantelism
by Sharon Beverly

May 2005

"Joh 5:28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation."

I'm a long way from being fully recovered after my encounter with Pantelism, and an even farther cry from being convinced that any man made Eschatological house is 100% accurate.

The one thing I am persuaded of is the future, bodily resurrection of the dead for final judgment, when the Lord will bodily return to Earth, releasing all of creation from the bonds of sin's curse.

Although there are still many thoughts running around inside of me, today for the first time in a very long time, I feel really good, and in my right mind. I was not consumed with brooding over Pantelism, but rather, I was out enjoying life with my children, and communing heart to heart with my first Love, with my sights set on the present and the future glory, rather than turning back again and again to the past.

I want to seize this opportunity to share the thoughts and conclusions that come to my mind as I continue to walk away from that which nearly consumed me, in the hopes of keeping others from making shipwreck of their faith as I nearly did. I will add to this section as thoughts come to me.

I was confiding to my husband yesterday about the depths I nearly fell to, and how I am still haunted by a twinge of doubt and guilt, and a feeling of intellectual dishonesty, for not being able to answer every question Pantelism raises. The reason for this has eluded me, and I feared I was in danger of falling into despair and depression all over again.

My dear husband, who declared from the beginning that Pantelism was a gross heresy, who warned me not to try and figure this out, told me I would never be able to argue this on their turf and win. I do believe that this is where the key lies-their turf is not my turf. The Pantelist mind does not use the same starting point that the rest of us do.

I remember once last year, when I was active in my studies, I struggled mightily to put myself into their shoes. I became visibly agitated, and my mind was reeling endlessly. Trying to bring my forward thought train to a screeching halt, and go into a completely reverse polarity, was more than I could bear. It felt as if I were catapulting backwards off of a cliff.

Remember, they believe we are now in eternity physically as well as spiritually, and that history will go on forever like it is right now. They start at the end. We start at the beginning, and move toward the end. It literally requires a twisting of the mind into a completely different direction.

The Pantelist has literally stepped into another paradigm, or dimension, that is totally antithetical to the mind that sees a future culmination of time and history with the second bodily coming of our Lord. It is like stepping into the twilight zone.

When I tried to do this, I could feel myself literally being pulled backwards into a black hole. At some level, I knew it was a vacuum, I could feel it. The Pantelist mind will always come up with scads and pages of convoluted, complicated black hole material to answer every question raised against them, which always brings you, the honest inquirer, back to square one-buried under a mound of Pantelism that you'll never find your way out from under.

One author described trying to discuss Pantelism with Pantelists as something akin to being challenged to a chess match, only to discover that when you pull out your chess board and start using the chess pieces, the Pantelist opponent pulls out checkers, and tries to convince you that he, too, is playing chess, with chess pieces, and is also playing by the rules, leaving you scratching your head in bewildered amazement. (Not verbatim, just my best memory)

When I first read this, I struggled with comprehending the application. Now that I'm completely back on the other side of the spectrum, it makes perfect sense. We are not operating in the same dimension as they are, and it is critical to understand this. I am convinced that my not recognizing this initially is a big part of why I was so consumed for so long.

Why do some people fall for it hook, line, and sinker, and stay that way? I don't know. Why do some people, like me, seem more susceptible to the subtle baiting tactics of deceptions like these? I guess we could also ask why some people are deathly allergic to bee stings, some are mildly allergic to bee stings, and still others aren't allergic at all. We are all different.

Perhaps this heresy was resurrected as a grave over-reaction to the errors of absolute, future, dispensational, pre-trib Eschatology. I suspect this plays at least some part in this. Unfortunately, the error of "past only" is far more serious than the "future-only" crowd, who, even though they may be erroneous in some respects, do not deny the essential doctrine of the future resurrection of the physical body for final judgment at the second coming of the Lord. The futurists are still playing chess by the rules, with real chess pieces-the Pantelist is not.

I am persuaded that it is past time for the orthodox church to speak as one, ecumenical voice on this issue. Is Pantelism heretical, or not? (I say it is) If it is, let's declare it as such, and quit entertaining Pantelism within orthodox ranks. If the Pantelists really want to be honest, and they really believe in their doctrine, then it's well past time for them to form their own little sect, like the Mormons and JW's did after being rejected by the orthodox church. The Pantelists will continue their assault on orthodoxy unless and until we tell them to move on. How many shipwrecks does it take to get the full attention of the collective body?

The following deserves careful and prayerful consideration: " 2Ti 2:16 2Ti 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness. 17 And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; 18 Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some.

Right from the start, if you let them, the Pantelist will not have you start with the obvious-this scripture is a clear, direct, indisputable description and condemnation of the foundation upon which their whole house of cards sits. If this scripture is true, right now, and has application for us today, they are without excuse in their heresy.

But wait, says the Pantelist, that scripture has no more relevance for us today, because that only applied to the pre-AD70 saints. All prophecy is fulfilled already. Hymie and Phil were only being chastised for being "off" by a few years. Here, take my hand, and come with me, and we'll go back in time together, and I will show you the truth. Oh really?

Be warned: the moment you bite on this, and take that step backwards and away from the crystal-clear, plain contextual meaning of that scripture, you have stepped backwards into the twilight zone, a gigantic black hole, and once you are there, coming out again will be one of the most difficult tasks of your life. It is a perilous place, and nearly impossible to escape from. In theory, not even light escapes from a black hole.

So, we have a choice to make here: do we A) - take the word of our Pantelist friends, which clearly violates this whole scriptural account, or, do we B)- believe God who wrote the book, and who tells us to avoid this vain, cankerous babbling which will overthrow our faith? If you try to start in the twilight zone with the Pantelist, and follow it backwards from here, your head will spin, your mind will reel with the endless possibilities, for the logical end point, since all is fulfilled, is that the whole Bible is no longer relevant in its original context for us today, which, is amusing in itself, since the Bible is the source these deceivers use to trick the unsuspecting traveler. This leaves the door wide open for a complete re-interpretation of what the Bible really means for us today. How can we justify that?

Another point relating to this incident with Hymie that merits careful consideration is the following:

1Ti 1:19 Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck: 20 Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.

Paul here condmens Hymie of blasphemy for his part in the shipwreck of faith. He then turns this brother over to Satan. This does not sound like a simple matter of resurrection timing to me. Again, be careful not to take the bait you'll be offered by Pantelism about this either. Use your own brain, be a Berean, pray, and listen to what the Lord has to say.

I cannot stress this strongly enough-attempting to engage the Pantelist in his twilight zone will leave most of us seriously wounded and confused. It is not a place for the novice to wander into. This poison can and will take your heart and mind completely off of Jesus, and leave you consumed with one desire-the defense of Pantelism.

Keep in mind, that common terminology, such as resurrection, and death, have been radically redefined by the Pantelist. This is another reason why it is impossible to converse with them in their dimension. Their resurrection of the dead and final judgment was a spiritual event that occurred in AD70, and the vast majority of the saints since that time have missed this critical fact.

I've never been one to think "outside the box" with ease, but praise the Lord, He is changing that. All arguments can run both ways, friends. Do not allow yourself to be baited into the Pantelist web. If you remain standing on the outside, the view is quite different.

The Pantelist claim to be the only consistent Eschatology isn't 100% accurate either. They have no absolute consensus among their ranks about the exact nature of the past resurrection, nor about how Revelation 20 fits into their narrow window.

It is not my intent nor purpose in this undertaking to approach any of this in a systematic, theological manner. There is already plenty of scholarly fare out there for us to study. I am relying on personal experience, diligent prayer and study, common sense, and the spiritual discernment that the good Lord gave me. I hope and pray that you will, too. I did not reach these conclusions about Pantelism in a vacuum, nor do I consider my harsh preaching against Pantelism to be a light thing. If I were not 100% convinced of how deadly this doctrine is, I wouldn't bother with it.

I have been learning from my dear husband how important it is to try and determine what point Z might look like while standing at point A. I guess it's another way of thinking outside the box. I encourage you to do the same. What would point Z look like if it were determined that the Bible is a completely past-tense book? Please consider this carefully.

Many people have become "hyper-sensitive" in our day, complaining loudly and often that anything other than a politically-correct, gently-worded, relativistic response to anything is wrong, blasphemous, un-Christian, etc., etc. ad-nauseum. Oh really?

Job 20:15 He hath swallowed down riches, and he shall vomit them up again: God shall cast them out of his belly.

Pr 23:8 The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words.

Pr 26:11 ¶ As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.

Isa 19:14 The LORD hath mingled a perverse spirit in the midst thereof: and they have caused Egypt to err in every work thereof, as a drunken man staggereth in his vomit.

Isa 28:8 For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean.

Eze 4:12 And thou shalt eat it as barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it with dung that cometh out of man, in their sight.

Eze 4:15 Then he said unto me, Lo, I have given thee cow's dung for man's dung, and thou shalt prepare thy bread therewith.

Jer 48:26 Make ye him drunken: for he magnified himself against the LORD: Moab also shall wallow in his vomit, and he also shall be in derision.

Mal 2:3 Behold, I will corrupt your seed, and spread dung upon your faces, even the dung of your solemn feasts; and one shall take you away with it.

Mt 23:15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.

Mt 23:33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?

Spreading dung on your face? Making you eat dung? Eating from a vomit-filled table? Serpents and vipers damned to hell? Delivering brothers to Satan????? Such strong, graphic imagery, just to make a point? Dung is dung, vomit is vomit, and poison is poison. Strong deception requires strong words.

***To Be Continued***

Saturday morning, May 14, 2005

I think alot of folks running around out there who have been deeply wounded by Pantelism, or who are seriously struggling with it, are afraid to speak out against it, which is quite understandable. Whether you're a learned, intellectual Theologian, or the common fisherman who loves the Lord, all saints who have stood up to this poison have experienced the dogmatic, arrogant, and rabid fervor that drives it at the highest echelons. It can appear outwardly intimidating, but please, do not let this keep you from speaking out. Whether we stand or fall, we stand or fall to Him, and no one else.

You can expect to be slandered. You can expect to have a slew of fancy-shmancy terminology thrown at you, along with the charge that because you don't write or speak according to their intellectual standards, you are a sub-standard idiot not worthy of any credibility. Do not worry. The Lord is simple, and a Man of few words. In the midst of His enemies, He often never spoke at all, even when falsely accused.

The fool is known by his many words, and condemneth his own self with his constantly wagging tongue. Do not contend with the fool. Speak the truth with an honest heart, and leave the results in His hands. Spiritual quickening is the Lord's work-not ours. Those who have ears to hear and eyes to see, will hear and see. Those who do not-will not-and no amount of intellectual arguing will change this. The wise man who allows himself to be drawn back into the fool's ring again and again, is engaging his own pride.

Pr 29:9 If a wise man contendeth with a foolish man, whether he rage or laugh, there is no rest. .

Do not allow him to intimidate you, dear one in Christ. If your heart is pricked with compassion for those who are falling into this pit-do not hold your peace. If your heart burns with the Lord's wise counsel-proclaim it loud and clear. Be encouraged, and be of good cheer, for He has overcome the world.

Jesus made himself of no reputation. Can we do anything less? Our reputation died with Him when we were born-again with Him. Is it easy to bite your tongue when you know you're being falsely accused and misrepresented? No, it's not, but the more we do bite our tongues, and leave it in His hands, the easier it becomes, and the more peace settles into our hearts. He is, afterall, our one, true Advocate. I pray we can leave it there in His capable hands.

The Lord is faithful to them that trust Him, and today He has spoken two things to me. The first word is to revisit Ecclesiastes. All that we need to understand all poisonous doctrines and stand against them can be found in that book.

The second word is the memory of my past encounter with two very young (18-21 years old I would guess) Mormon "Elders" who came to my front door last year. These two young men were handsome, smartly dressed, articulate, kind, and by all accounts, outwardly righteous. Our exchange ended with me telling them that Joseph Smith was a false prophet, and that they needed to repent and believe the gospel. I said good day, and I closed the door, while these previously polite and outwardly friendly young men ranted and raved at me through my closed door. Pride is the greatest deceiver of mankind, and our worst enemy. May the Lord clothe those who love Him in His own cloak of humility.

Continuing Reflections on Pantelismby Sharon Beverly

Continuing Reflections on Pantelism
by Sharon Beverly