Book Review: The Last Disciple

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

The Last Disciple     Amazon US TPB Amazon US HC Amazon Canada TPB Amazon Canada HC
Hank Hannegraaff , Sigmund Brouwer
Class/Genre:   Fiction   Religious Fiction   Christianity   Apocalyptic Fiction   Historical
Tyndale, Oct 2004, $19.95, 350 pp.

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

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner