John Ekstadt was a
peculiar treasure of The Almighty.
Smithson may have some
particular appreciation for him. Ekstadt became a UPC preacher that
UPC preachers often loathed as he taught with Scriptural authority against
their pet rapture doctrine as well as many other pat pet pablum standard
fare of UPC.
However, he was not
always a UPC preacher.
Upon his death several
UPC ministers reportedly were heard chuckling as another said in a mocking
tone, "Well, the old prophet is dead."
Eckstadt was a Canuck
from eastern Canada (Nova Scotia if memory serves). He was an
unruly terror as a boy and as a young man -- full of fight. He
came by it natural as his father was the same.
Eckstadt began to go to
a Baptist church which his father tolerated though with much mocking.
He also was warned not to go too far with religion and especially to stay
away from the holy rollers.
Making a long story
short he was baptized in The Holy Spirit with the Assemblies of God but kept
it from his father. One day his father came home quite early from work
very unexpectedly to come upon his son in the loft praying in
tongues.
"That's IT", his father
exclaimed and threw all his belongings out the upstairs window crying out,
"Praise The Lord and pass the ammunition"!
Ecstadt became a
preacher for the AG. He was a terror to the UPC, as he preached
against Oneness and baptism in The Name with such fervor and authority
that he converted many away from UPC to the AG.
Then as with The Apostle
Paul the bright Light of the World shined down. The Word revealed
Himself to Eckstadt, he was baptized in The Name, and preached with the
result that even more were converted to Oneness than he ever had converted
to the trinity.
On one tape set he
preached the trinity in such a convincing manner that he warned Oneness
listeners as he began that they should not listen unless they would
immediately follow it with the next tape that gave answer with Oneness, for
fear that their faith would be shaken.
UPC tolerated him due to
the strength of The Anointing upon him and his command of Scripture though
they did not herald him much in their ranks. I have found it so with
UPC that the grandest of their preachers as far as anointing and command of
Scripture are not heralded, while those they herald I have found to
generally be as Bill Shakespeare wrote, "Much Ado About" not all that
much.
I have found UPC to
stand most accurately for Union of Pentpolitical Churches.
