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The Third Testament

by John Eklund (Goodreads Author)

4.0 of 5 stars 4.00 · rating details · 24 ratings · 15 reviews

Widower Fred Sankt is a professor at a small Catholic college who is not at all accustomed to dreaming. When he begins experiencing a series of profoundly vivid dreams that consistently awaken him at 3:00 a.m., he is not alarmed-simply curious. In the last of his dreams, Fred meets a faceless old friend who informs him that he has been chosen by God to record the next test...more

Paperback, 308 pages

Published May 18th 2010 by iUniverse

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Jan 25, 2013 MaryAnn Koopmann rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Third Testament is written as a novel, but the author has sought to keep it as historically accurate as possible. The protagonist (Fred Sankt) is a college professor and Biblical scholar who experiences a series of lucid dreams in which he realizes he has been chosen to write a "Third Testament" to follow the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. He is skeptical that it could possibly be a "message" coming from God, and questions whether it would even be God's will that anyone should add to t...more The Third Testament is written as a novel, but the author has sought to keep it as historically accurate as possible. The protagonist (Fred Sankt) is a college professor and Biblical scholar who experiences a series of lucid dreams in which he realizes he has been chosen to write a "Third Testament" to follow the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. He is skeptical that it could possibly be a "message" coming from God, and questions whether it would even be God's will that anyone should add to the Revelation of the Bible. Fred tries to dismiss the whole thing, until problems in his personal life throw him into near despair. He is a lonely widower who lost his wife to cancer, and has showered his affections on his only daughter, Ellen. His life begins to unravel when he becomes victim to an unjust lawsuit that threatens to bankrupt him, and then his daughter is diagnosed with an aggressive, Stage Four Cancer. He begins to reconsider writing the Third Testament to focus his mind on something besides his insurmountable problems. And so begins the immense task of recording the religious truths revealed from the events following the time of the New Testamen to the time of Pope John Paul the Great.

The author did what I thought was a remarkable job developing such an ambitious project. His choice of events and topics to include was excellent. He told of the major miracles and approved apparitions in such a way that I determined to follow up and read more about them. I really learned a lot from the book. One of my favorite things in the book was the Parable of the Humble Servant who lost a dear friend to the scourge of cancer and prayed he would see his friend again in Heaven, and was confronted by a demon who challenged his belief in God. (See the beginning of Chapter 32.) The author brought great insight and made a strong case against secularism.

If I had any complaint about the book, it would be that the professor's personal story of suffering endlessly with his daughter's worsening condition and other problems became a little depressing to me. I have recently been through a couple losses to this disease, and was not in the mood to "suffer along" with the professor's daughter. I felt this part of the book was overemphasized. However, I still gave it five stars because it is a book I'll always remember, and the author really did a brilliant job with bringing everything to a satisfying conclusion. I heartily recommend the book--it will have great appeal to Christians who believe our study of history should include our religious heritage.(less)

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Jan 02, 2011 Derek Emerson added it

Shelves: 2011-books-read, christian

In his debut novel, John Eklund takes on the interesting story of a man called on to write "The Third Testament." The idea is that since the the New Testament was written there has been no recording of God's work in the world in one place. A history professor, Fred Sankt, finds himself called on to complete this task even as his "normal" world is falling to pieces. A widower who lost his wife to cancer, Sankt's adult daughter now finds herself falling to the same disease and Sankt himself finds...more

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Jul 04, 2011 Ba rated it 5 of 5 stars

I would have never dreamed that I'd rank a Catholic novel (especially one that gives high praise to Ronald Reagan)as my all-time favorite Christian fiction book, but The Third Testament is amazing. Much of it is not fiction at all, but rather a select history of Christianity from a Catholic perspective. It is not a dry academic text book history, but a fascinating history of martyrs, saints, holy apparitions, religious military conflicts, Evil Empires, and inexplicable miracles. As much as I enj...more

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Dec 21, 2010 Julie Davis rated it 3 of 5 stars

Fred is a grieving widower with one daughter who lives near Chicago. A faithful Catholic, he begins having a series of dreams which make him realize that he is being prompted to write the third testament to the Bible ... which would update it for modern times. Soon after this, he is served with what seems to be a bogus summons that nonetheless threatens to take his home from him and his daughter finds she has melanoma which is spreading rapidly through her body.

At this point, Fred turns to his w...more Fred is a grieving widower with one daughter who lives near Chicago. A faithful Catholic, he begins having a series of dreams which make him realize that he is being prompted to write the third testament to the Bible ... which would update it for modern times. Soon after this, he is served with what seems to be a bogus summons that nonetheless threatens to take his home from him and his daughter finds she has melanoma which is spreading rapidly through her body.

At this point, Fred turns to his writing as a panacea for his mental and emotional struggles. The current story serves as a thin thread which holds together the history that Fred is writing. The author includes much more of the history, both as Fred's thoughts and then as samples of what he is writing. Eklund has a knack for picking out interesting people and events and pulling up tidbits that I hadn't heard, even when I was familiar with the piece of history.

This was an interesting book on several levels. It is clearly a first novel and the author does not have a very good ear for natural dialogue. He also has a tendency to preach a bit when the protagonist is thinking. For example, gazing at the sky and seeing an eagle, Fred suddenly takes a mental side trip onto American virtues. This is a bit wearying and tended to put me off the book.

The modern story is extremely one dimensional, yet, I nonetheless still found myself interested in whether Ellen would beat her cancer, the different places that Fred would encounter his new friend (Tony), and whether we would get more than a whiff of evil from the lawyer suing Fred.

I am glad that I persevered despite the sometimes clunky writing int the modern section because the author has a much more natural flow when writing any of the "third testament" and detailing Catholic Church history. There still is a tendency to preach some but since it is within the context of the history this becomes easier to take.

The book as a whole overcomes the problems if one is willing to overlook them and I found it a satisfying read. I will be interested to see what this author writes next.(less)

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Jan 06, 2011 Caitlin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

The Third Testament was the first religious book I've read. It was slow going at frist but I think it was only because I expected the book to be dull. It was anything but. John Eklund beautifully wrote about a man who despite losing his wife and almost losing is only daughter kept faith. Fred wrote the Third Testament and it was trully a new way to look at the events that have happened since the bible was last written. One quote in particular that he added caught my eye, "When the devil is calle...more

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Jan 19, 2011 Nancy rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: people of faith

Recommended to Nancy by: Received book for free through Good reads First Reads

Interesting book and extremely well- written. The writing and intense explanations of people, places, facts within the pages had me wondering about the background of the author. History, English teacher? Scholarly rendering of historical events, although there is the constant placing of catholicism at the forefront. I have to confess that there were times during my reading, when I was relieved to get away from the history of the the church, and delve into the personal issues confronting the main...more

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Jul 03, 2011 John Eklund rated it 5 of 5 stars · (Review from the author)

See the reviews of my book:

Catholicfiction.net:
http://www.catholicfiction.net/2010/1...

Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/Third-Testament...

Midwest Book Review:
http://www.midwestbookreview.com/rbw/...

A Catholic View:
http://acatholicview.blogspot.com/201...

YIM Catholic Blog: http://yimcatholic.blogspot.com/2011/...

Catholic Mom in Hawaii Blog: http://hicatholicmom.blogspot.com/201...

Catawissa Gazetteer Blog: http://catawissagazetteer.blogspot.co...

Catholic Book Report Blog: http://catholicbookreport ...more

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Nov 14, 2011 Sharon rated it 4 of 5 stars

Not a book I would have normally choosen from the shelf, although I am glad that I did. The story of a man and his life is intertwined with a second story, a story of his faith in God. There were many stories he writes in his book, the Third Testament, that I had heard of but did not know. I learned a great deal more of religion and history that I was not aware of. However, that was not my favorite part of the book. I prefer fiction despite the fact I am a history teacher. I like the realistic f...more

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Aug 08, 2010 Jennifer Eklund rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction-literature, religious-fiction

Yes, the author is my husband :) That fact aside, the book really is fantastic. For all those out there who want a collection of biblical events and stories that have occurred since the New Testament, all wrapped up with a heartfelt and touching story to boot, this is the book for you!

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Oct 22, 2011 Bailey Olfert rated it 1 of 5 stars

This author seemed to have an agenda in writing this "novel." It really comes across as a Third Testament disguised within a (largely uninteresting) story. If Eklund wanted to write a 3rd testament, he should have done that and not attempted to insert it into a novel.

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Jun 26, 2011 Pat Murphy rated it 5 of 5 stars

The best Christian fiction book I've ever read. Tremendous story! It was inspirational and real for me. The historical aspects were simply incredible. Highly recommended!

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Oct 09, 2012 Lori blake rated it 5 of 5 stars

Excellent Christian fiction story! This book was a very inspirational read for me due to some family circumstances that occurred in my life. The historical outlooks and facts that the author presents were very informative to me because I did not know much about the Catholic religion. I also loved all the minute details of the book; just an example the history of the mistletoe was one of my very favorite parts among various other detailed parts of the book. I would highly recommend this book to a...more

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Jun 19, 2011 Ishanie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

I won this book on First Reads giveaways here on goodreads! I'm looking forward to getting started on it and I will update this review as soon as I finish it! Thanks!!

***UPDATE***

I am not a religious person. Quite the opposite actually. And yet, the subject intrigues me. The idea of adding more to a book written 2000 years ago was fascinating. Check it out when you get a chance!

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Nov 29, 2011 Jason Jones rated it 3 of 5 stars

It was slow going at frist but I think it was only because I expected the book to be dull. John Eklund beautifully wrote about a man who despite losing his wife and almost losing is only daughter keeps his faith. Well written and great character development. My only drawback is it takes a few chapters to get going and the type face is almost too small to enjoy reading.

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Mar 10, 2011 Jeannie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

I won this book in a Firstreads giveaway.

I recieved an autographed copy of this book. The author writes "May you find intrigue and inspiration in these pages" to which I respond "I did, sir, I truly did"

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About John Eklund

I am a practicing Catholic who took to writing Christian fiction on a whim and found I loved every minute of it. I reside in the Chicago suburbs and include many Chicago area references in my book.

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