The Last Disciple

by Hank Hanegraaff and Sigmund Brouwer

Book Overview

First-century Rome is a perilous city as Nero stalks the political circles and huddled groups of believers. To be safe, Christians must remain invisible.Gallus Sergius Vitas is the only man within... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0842384375
• ISBN13: 9780842384377
• Release Date: September 2004
• Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers
• Length: 395 Pages
• Weight: 0.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 6.5" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

This Book is a Page Turner!

I purchased this book 2 years ago and have read it once a year since, the storyline is good and the characters are believable. Hank Hanegraaff and Sigmund Brouwer have given us a wonderful adventure packed series set in Ancient Rome.

Leaves "Left Behind" in the dust!!

Sigmund Brouwer, as a writer, is at least 2 orders of magnitude better than Jerry Jenkins. His characters have depth. They are believable. The prose flows naturally. The book is engaging and hard to put down. The plot is 3-dimensional. Furthermore, it seems to be written for thinking, literate adults rather than teenage television addicts. In contrast to the almost cartoonish "Left Behind", this book's theology does not call attention to itself, but instead weaves itself very realistically into the story. Hannegraaff's theology is plausible and based on sound "plain reading" exegesis. This is a novel worth reading totally apart from the eschatological component, however. I'm looking forward to future installments of the series.

Good fiction, great theology

I bought this book primarily for it's theology, but was pleasantly surprised by the quality of Brouwer's fiction writing as well. I certainly wasn't expecting top-notch literature, but it sure was a fun page-turner. I find it quite encouraging to think that so many people are reading about a view that has much more biblical, theological, and logical merit than the standard-issue premillennialism of pop-evangelicalism. And it's a lot easier to get people to read a popular work of fiction than an academic treatise on partial preterism! While I have been convinced of the partial preterist view for a couple years now, it was helpful to read this book and see what it might have "looked like" back then; sort of like going back in time and seeing what might otherwise be an esoteric eschatological theory unfold in real history before your very eyes. While I don't agree with everything Hank teaches, I do respect his thorough research. This book is an accurate and well-written work of historical fiction. (I couldn't find anything in this book that could be faulted historically or theologically). Hanegraaff and Brouwer did a wonderful job helping the reader understand the Jewish mindset, without which the prophecies of Matt 24 and Revelation make no sense. The original audience would have interpreted themes like "coming on the clouds" completely differently than the "Left Behind" generation of today understands them. Hanegraaff tells us why. He also presents a good case in the book as to why Revelation was written before the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. There are myriad reasons to believe so, from both internal and external evidence, but Hanegraaff only touches on a few. I suspect that we'll see a lot more, though, as this series unfolds. I can't wait for the next installment!

At Last! A Preterist End Times Novel!

This book was published 9/30/04; it showed up in my local library 10/7/04. I picked it up and read the intro page to the first section and two words jumped out at me - "Tribulation" and "65AD". Wow! An end times series that actually gets the theology right. I checked it out immediately and read it on two plane flights over the next four days. Left Behind has been left behind. Hannegraaff has it over LaHaye on the theology and Brouwer has it over Jenkins on the narrative. This was a thoroughly enjoyable read, although as other reviewers have noted, it is highly episodic and jumps around between scenes a lot, therefore requiring careful attention. But the characters are credible, synpathetic and have rational motivations, unlike Jenkins' wooden stereotypes. I did however have a hard time accepting Queen Bernice as a good character, given the negative portrayal of her in the Bible and her well-known incestuousness. But it worked. Other historical persons were well presented (principally Gessius Florus, governor of Judea, and to a lesser extent, John, Nero and various members of the Jewish priesthood). The plot was strong, and to the degree that a series novel can be resolved, it was, cleverly. The story rests on two fundamental ideas - 1) That Revelation was written prior to the sack of Jerusalem; and 2) That Nero was the Beast of John's Apocalypse. These are also the foundation of the theology known as preterism. What is preterism, you ask? Simply the school of Biblical interpretation that holds that all or nearly all Biblical prophecies were fulfilled within the lifetime of the generation of Jesus, culminating in the destruction of the Jerusalem temple in 70AD. It stands in stark contrast to the futurist interpretation, whose name is self-explanatory and which arises from (largely aberrant) dispensationalism. Hannegraaff doesn't refer to it that way, though - in the afterword he describes it as "Exegetical Eschatology" and goes on to show an example of why the ideas behind Left Behind are wrong. The novel itself explains why Nero is the most likely candidate for the Beast of Revelation and argues that any self-respecting 1st century Jew would have known almost immediately that his was the name behind 666. From this it becomes clear that Revelation, if interpreted correctly by the Roman authorities, was a very dangerous book to possess. Now I doubtless have to wait ages for the next installment...

excellent biblical thriller

In 65 AD Nero rules Rome with an iron fist; since the Great Fire he persecutes Christians who refuse to accept that he is divine blaming the inferno on them. Vilas, a trusted advisor, knows the emperor is mad, and does his best to curb the worst of the excesses. He especially tries to save Christians who Nero is about to kill. Believers of Christ think Nero is the Beast and this is the time of the tribulation. Vilas is sick of war and the blood on his hands so he goes to Jerusalem to report on the Roman in charge of Judea, who is thought to have committed crimes against the Empire. In Judea, Vilas asks Sophia, the former Jewish slave he freed, to marry him although she is Christian and he is part of Nero's inner circle. They agree to hide her religion when they return to Rome as a married couple. However, Vilas has enemies who see his wife as the instrument to destroy him. At the same time, John the Revelator who is the last living disciple is in danger as he comforts incarcerated Christians. John and Vilas meet as both flee the wrath of the Beast. THE LAST DISCIPLE depicts Nero as the Beast of Revelations as he persecutes Christians. The period is when people still living can provide eye witness accounts about the miracles Jesus performed. Vilas is a terrific representative of the age as he tries to remain loyal to the Empire, but detests the ruler he believes is destroying it. Much historical information is included in this biblical thriller so that readers obtain a taste of life in the first decades following the crucifixion in Rome and Judea, which makes for an enthralling read. Harriet Klausner

Absolutely Awesome

Hanegraaff and Brouwer have compiled perhaps the most historically accurate fictional work I have ever read. This book is a must read for anyone wishing to understand what life was like for Christians in 1st Century Rome. Once you start this book you will not put it down.