The Last Disciple (Hardcover)

~ (Author), (Author) "In the royal gardens beneath a full moon, Vitas stealthily pursued the man he had once vowed to serve with loyalty or death..." (more)
Key Phrases: last disciple, upper city, Queen Bernice, Annas the Younger, Gallus Sergius Vitas (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Tyndale House, the publisher of the Left Behind books, the megaselling Christian series about the end times, now presents a new series with a very different interpretation of biblical prophecy. Christian radio-show host Hanegraaff and bestselling CBA novelist Brouwer take readers back to the time of Nero in the first century. As the Roman Empire ruthlessly persecutes Christians, the novel's warrior-hero, Vitas, tries to defend them. But even Vitas can't prevent the destruction of the Jewish Temple—the historical event that sits at the center of this novel. Hanegraaff and Brouwer posit that the Book of Revelation, in code, predicted Roman persecution and the Temple's fall; subsequent novels in the series presumably will walk readers through the rest of Revelation, tying historical events to biblical prophecy. This is, to be sure, middle-brow genre fiction, and not an especially shining specimen thereof. The prose is plodding, with far too many dramatic sentence fragments and a conventional plot. The dialogue tends toward the unsubtly didactic (" 'Jesus, then, uses this rich symbolism?' Darda nodded.... 'You said John was obviously educated. Can you make any other guesses about him?' 'John verges on genius.' ") Despite the series' many flaws, readers who are hungry for apocalyptic fiction may embrace it, though it remains to be seen whether they'll find a first-century apocalypse as gripping as Left Behind's 21st-century one.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

From Publishers Weekly

Tyndale House, the publisher of the Left Behind books, the megaselling Christian series about the end times, now presents a new series with a very different interpretation of biblical prophecy. Christian radio-show host Hanegraaff and bestselling CBA novelist Brouwer take readers back to the time of Nero in the first century. As the Roman Empire ruthlessly persecutes Christians, the novel's warrior-hero, Vitas, tries to defend them. But even Vitas can't prevent the destruction of the Jewish Temple-the historical event that sits at the center of this novel. Hanegraaff and Brouwer posit that the Book of Revelation, in code, predicted Roman persecution and the Temple's fall; subsequent novels in the series presumably will walk readers through the rest of evelation, tying historical events to biblical prophecy. This is, to be sure, middle-brow genre fiction, and not an especially shining specimen
thereof. The prose is plodding, with far too many dramatic sentence
fragments and a conventional plot. The dialogue tends toward the
unsubtly didactic (" 'Jesus, then, uses this rich symbolism?' Darda
nodded.... 'You said John was obviously educated. Can you make any
other guesses about him?' 'John verges on genius.' ") Despite the
series' many flaws, readers who are hungry for apocalyptic fiction may
embrace it, though it remains to be seen whether they'll find a
first-century apocalypse as gripping as Left Behind's 21st-century one.

Copyright - Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers (September 10, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0842384375
• ISBN-13: 978-0842384377
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (76 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #536,841 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

139 of 154 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars At Last! A Preterist End Times Novel!, October 13, 2004

By	John Fuller (Birmingham, AL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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...

58 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent biblical thriller , September 29, 2004

By	Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews (#1 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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

28 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars How the pendulum in reviews seem to swing over time..., February 12, 2005

By	Jonathan (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews

It is hard not to notice that recent "decline" in rating for this product. Quite curious, seeing that nothing but 5-star ratings were given near the beginning, and there has been a plethora of 1-star ratings (which coincidentally have been unanimously checked as "helpful"). In case my innuendos are not clear, I'm suggesting that an indiviudal or a group of like-minded individuals have been giving this product bad ratings. While I don't know what their motive is, I would imagine that it has something to do with their dislike for the authors or the eschatological position delineated in the book. This is disappointing, and I really hope that reviewers examine this trend before being discouraged from purchasing this book.

AS for the book itself, I believe it was entertaining fiction. It has a complex story line, and it took a great deal of time to see the characters intermingle. In fact, there are still many questions unanswered specifically to interlude the next book in the series. Ultimately, the book was solid and the theology is fully acceptable in orthodox Christianity. Some of the reviewers criticizing the eschatology in this book should research exactly what partial preterism is, and what it entails. While I am inclined to argue that partial preterism makes AT LEAST as much sense as futurism, that is not what a review for this book should encompass. But for the sake of other reviewers, it must be noted that partial preterism is not this heretical nonsense that other reviews might suggest. At least research the subject with an open mind if you are in debate about this (don't take my word or that of an opposing review).

I recommend this book. It is outstanding fiction and corroborates historical fact. Brouwer is a talented writer and the eschataogical position posited by Hanegraaff is plausible (not flawless, but no more so than all other eschatological positions). I would encourage anyone who is considering purchasing this book to do so. Finally, if my review tends to have the "helpful" question answered in the negative, please do not feel my opinion is rendered useless because of this. If you honestly feel that way, I'd rather you come to that conclusion on your own.