The Last Disciple is authored by Hank Hanegraaff and Sigmund Brouwer. Hank Hanegraaff is host of "The Bible Answer Man" radio show which I listen to occasionally and enjoy. I found this book at our local public library while perusing for a good novel to read over the New Year's holiday.The book is historical fiction set during the persecution of Christians under the Roman Empire (approx AD 60-70). The main character is a Roman commander named "Vitas" who has fallen in love with a Jewish slave whose freedom he purchased but has lost contact with her. Vitas has a unique situation in that he is in Nero's inner circle but also has respect from the Senate. Most of Nero's other cronies despise Vitas because of his virtue and truthfulness. We learn about half way through the book that Vitas' love "Sofia" is also a member of the "cult" who follows and believes in "The Christos."
This book reads like a Peretti novel in that there are about five different scenes going on, all bouncing back and forth constantly. This type of writing engages your interest but also can be hard a little hard to follow. There are numerous characters also involved in the plot but two quickly worth mentioning are a Jewish Rabbi named Ben and a former Gladiator champion named Maglorious who both sidekick with Vitas at various times as he chases his love and also tries to make sense of the madness which has become the Roman Empire. There is a symbol which you can see from the picture above which comes up occasionally as a secret code among the believers throughout the book. The last disciple of Jesus, John son of Zebedee has a few cameo appearances through out the book, the first at the beginning of the book when Vitas rescues John and some other Christians from a small house which Nero himself is persecuting. The final part of the book also deals with John, but I will say no more to that as I don't want to be too big of a spoiler.
This book is historical fiction, but we all know how influential this type of writing can be. Hanegraaff counters Tim Lahaye's "Left Behind" series and the dispensational premillennial view with this novel and it's Partial Preterist view. Partial Preterism takes a basic historical approach to the Biblical book of Revelation; Nero is The Beast, Rome is Babylon and the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and the onset of the church age are all part of the prophecy of Revelation. Full Preterism apparently is the minority view in Preterism as it holds that the onset of the church age is the return of Jesus, but Partial Preterists still believe in the physical bodily return of Jesus and several other prophecies yet to be fulfilled. A strength of this view is that in Hebrew Gematria some interpret that the number 666 means "Neron Caesar." Another strength is that the phrase "the time is near" is mentioned at the beginning and end of Revelation. A clear weakness is that many in church tradition have held that Revelation was written around 90 AD, after the fall of the Temple.
Overall, this book was a good read and I would recommend it. I consider Hanegraaff a very sound theologian. He has boldly diverged from much of Protestant eschatology of the last 100 years with this view of Revelation. As he mentions in the Afterward, his view of the end times he has coined "exegetical eschatology" or E2. This also is a bit of a bold name as there are varying views of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, and I am sure every one believes they are using proper exegesis with their own interpretation. I was reminded the other day by my Dad of the preacher we had at Woodville Baptist Church when I was in high school late eighties/early nineties. Once, during a sermon on Revelation he said "I am so Pre-Trib that I refuse to eat Post Toasties for breakfast!!!!!" Classic!
"This calls for wisdom. If anyone has insight, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is man's number. His number is 666." Revelation 13:18
