"Exciting historical fiction"

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

Reviewed by Harriet Klausner
Posted September 28, 2004

Summary

What if the Antichrist has already been revealed? The first book in a gripping new series by best-selling authors Sigmund Brouwer and Hank Hanegraaff explores the lives of Christians who struggle to survive and spread the Gospel during the climactic turbulence of "the last days." With the enemy seeking to decipher the code of John's letter, Revelation, and destroy the church, believers must cling to the hope Revelation provides as they face the greatest of all persecutions. A spellbinding story of faith and fulfillment of prophecy. ﷯﷯Discover﷯﷯ the "code" of Revelation as you begin to see it through the eyes of the persecuted believers to whom it was written.