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The Last Disciple 3. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about The Last Temple , please sign up. Lists with This Book. Aug 23, Lisa Johnson rated it really liked it.
The Last Temple Author: Hank Hanegraaff and Sigmund Brouwer Pages: I received a complimentary copy for an honest review of this book. The opinions shared in this review are solely my responsibility. Other reviews can be read at http: Also follow me on Twitter lcjohnson The setting is Caesarea in 67 A. He has bee Title: He has been sent in as a spy by his brother, who is a slave hunter, to investigate a domestic situation. The slaves are arrested, pronounced guilty, and sentenced to be crucified. Vitas has arrived in Caesarea after being secretly rescued from fighting in the arena, a fight to the death.
He has been sent a secret message to go to Caesarea to meet someone. Who is he to meet? He is hoping to find a clue in the market place. Now, however, that he is in jail awaiting execution, he desperately hopes his brother will arrive in time to free him. As a former soldier, Vitas knows how people are crucified and has witnessed this form of punishment. Does his brother arrive in time? Vitas was married, but believes his wife is dead.
He loved his wife very much and misses her greatly. This takes place in the first book of the series, but explains the deep feelings of hatred and desire for vengeance Vitas has for Nero. His wife was a Jew, who came to believe Christ was the promised Messiah.
Vitas is not a believer, but he wants to be. Every time he gets close to surrendering to Christ, something holds him back. Will he ever truly believe and come to know Christ? Will he ever get revenge against Nero? How long will the Romans put up with continued Jewish rebellion before action is taken? Will the Romans go so far as to really destroy the temple in Jerusalem? This is the third story in this series. There is plenty of action, betrayal, plotting, and political intrigue to keep the story moving right along.
The characters are well-developed and realistic. There is no time to get bored with all that happens! You will definitely want to read this novel from these two great authors. My rating is 4 stars. May 21, Michelle rated it really liked it Shelves: In this novel there is an entire portion of the story devoted to Nero's demise as well as the rebellion in Jerusalem that Rome got involved in. I liked how the author tied it all to the book of Revelation that the apostle John wrote on Patmos. That was an interesting perspective.
It was obvious the book was not the first in a series and it di This is the first book I've read about the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD and the only thing that comes close to it was A Voice in the Wind by Francine Rivers. It was obvious the book was not the first in a series and it did feel like some things would have touched me more if I had read the first two books, but I still enjoyed this one.
The authors did hint at the historical information from previous books. I loved that Vitas had such a powerful role in this story and how he was on a faith journey as well as a quest to destroy Nero. The connection he had to the Ark of the Covenant was awesome, too.
This book was very man-friendly, and by that, I mean it had it's gruesome, descriptive parts. Most guys will love the battle scenes and I know part of the fall of Jerusalem had to do with stacks of corpses, people starving, women consuming their own children, etc. Anyway, I found this story compelling enough to finish it. It was interesting to read about Vitas' love for his wife from his perspective.
Oh, and I knew Nero was a sicko, but man, was his behavior gross. Isn't there a saying that absolute power corrupts absolutely? Nero was a prime example of that. I love how at the end of this book the authors go into detail about history and what is true as well as what they fabricated for the story. It was like getting a mini history lesson about a turbulent time in the world.
I didn't realize that after Nero came four more Caesars for a short period of time. It's amazing that Christianity and Judaism survived at all after that. It just shows how God has a plan and it will come to fruition. The question is just how involved do we want to get in that plan. Oh, and I loved the ending, but I don't want to post a spoiler so we'll leave it at that.
A kind of silly end to an otherwise enjoyable series. For some reason, the "vision" of the story seemed to narrow to just one character when, in the others books, we saw multiple viewpoints. Seemingly important events took place "off-camera," only to have it revealed each time to, well, not. And the ending just was ridiculous in terms of historical accuracy. All in all, the series is interesting. Christian fiction needs more "dissenting views.
But I wasn't impressed with this final entry. Aug 09, Angela rated it it was amazing. I didn't know some of the main characters other than John and Nero were real people.
The Last Temple concludes the trilogy of The Last Disciple and The Last Vitas, the novel's warrior-hero, has returned home to Alexandria. Editorial Reviews. Review. In the final installment of the authors' trilogy (The Last Sacrifice, The Last Disciple), Jerusalem continues to experience the.
The book's afterword, historical notes, etc gave me at least two more books to read. Mar 26, Justin Nichols rated it it was amazing Shelves: Incredible ending to an incredible series! Historical fiction is no easy task, but Hanegraaff and Brouwer just delivered one of the most well-written, intricate, compelling stories intertwined with true accounts that I've ever read or watched or heard. I almost want to stick with only these kinds of novels from now on!
I won't hold to that, but this series almost convinced me, lol. The Last Temple was an at times beautiful, at times utterly gruesome telling of the Jewish and Roman civil Wow. The Last Temple was an at times beautiful, at times utterly gruesome telling of the Jewish and Roman civil wars, with the culmination being the final destruction of Jerusalem and burning of the temple in August of 70 AD.
I've read countless accounts and historical texts about that time period, all the turmoil and horrendous happenings in and around the Roman Empire, but to follow a few people real and fictional around in story form, seeing it from their firsthand point of view, was almost like experiencing it for the first time.
The authors do an excellent job drawing the eschatological conclusions regarding that time and the symbols and types within Revelation. I enjoyed the interactions between Vitas and the real men and women of history-- Titus, Bernice, Ben-Matthias, etc Even Nero, as absolutely despicable as he was.
All in all, an extremely good series. I liked it even more than I thought I would and I was very excited when I found out about these 3 books. This has inspired and helped me in my goal of writing my own historical novel based in the first century. I started this series soon after the first book came out. The last disciple drew me in immediately and the last sacrifice was just as great. The was they weaved in and out of characters was great. Unfortunately the final book didn't have the mystery of the first two and stayed on one point of view the whole time.
It was nice to finally finish the series and have it resolved but it was not what I hoped it would be all these years. Great historical fiction This was a very well-written trilogy. It kept true to the Bible and other historical documents. Characters were well developed. I enjoyed these books very much. May 23, Snowangel rated it really liked it. Not as good as the other 2. Sep 20, Andrew Miller rated it really liked it. During his time as a slave, an unfortunate series of circumstances leads to Vitas being crucified.
But while he hangs on the cross, he sees Sophia, his wife, passing by in the crowd of onlookers. Could she be alive? As it turns out, Vitas is removed from the cross before he dies by an old acquaintance, Queen Bernice of the Jews, and she needs his help to save her people. But Vitas cares for naught save finding his wife, if she is indeed alive.
And so the story continues. The Last Temple is quite possibly the weakest installment of the trilogy. In form it is still good, but it lacks flow. The book is split into several parts, as the previous two books were, but there is almost no narrative connection between the various parts, save Vitas, the protagonist. The rest of the book has very little to do with his relationship with his wife.
It takes away from the sweeping historical epic feel of the previous books and almost turns it into a mere historical documentary. In places, this is very much the case. Another pitfall of removing the varying perspectives is that some characters seem to fall out of the story, or their storyline is not resolved satisfactorily.
For example, the Roman girl Valeria and her brother Quintus, both of whose eyes we see through at some point in the series, have their story concluded as almost an afterthought. Afterthought is actually quite a good word to describe the entire book, minus the first part. There was a rather key plot point in from the previous two books involving a letter and conspirators against Nero which seems to be insufficiently wrapped up.
It seems as though the authors knew they had to finish the series, but did not feel like putting much effort into it, or ran out of ideas, so they simply rehashed the historical content in a narrative form and added their characters in. It is unfortunate, as the story as laid out in the first two books was very engaging, and the theological view put forth by the authors is one that seems to hold good weight from a biblical as well as historical perspective. If they had simply put more effort into the final installment, it could have been a much better story overall. Oct 21, Cathy rated it really liked it Shelves: It's much gorier than my usual reading, but any story that does truth to persecution and war will be gory.
The time frame of the series is from Nero's persecution of the Jews up through the destruction of Jerusalem, and particularly This is the 3rd book "The Last Temple" in the series, after book 1,"The Last Disciple," and book 2, "The Last Sacrifice. The time frame of the series is from Nero's persecution of the Jews up through the destruction of Jerusalem, and particularly, the temple that Jesus predicted would not have one stone left upon another.
In the beginning, one of the characters suffers through a crucifixion, and I discovered that I should not be reading it during an MRI, when I wasn't supposed to squirm, even a little. I like the Jerome character, although admittedly, he doesn't say much. I had not realized that the historian Flavius Josephus had himself been present to witness the destruction of Jerusalem, the Historical Notes at the end said that part of the story was true , and I had not recognized Josephus as a real person among the fictional characters, because at that point in time, he went by a different name.
The destruction of Jerusalem was awful, but then Jesus had said it would be, and for the women to mourn it.
Lots of people in this story died for their mistaken beliefs. Some of the Jews in this story believed that Jerusalem could never fall because the Messiah hadn't come yet. But Jesus had already come, and had prophesied about the fall of Jerusalem. His prophecy being fulfilled about forty years after His crucifixion gave further credence to Who He said He was and what else He said. It is sad to me that these mistaken people could have believed so fervently that over a million people died protecting what could not be protected.
It is an awful thing to believe the wrong thing, even fervently. Those who did what Jesus said and ran to the mountains beforehand survived. As far as the interpretation of Revelation goes - that the book of Revelation spoke primarily of Rome as Babylon and Nero as the Beast, instead of yet to come - I had not heard that interpretation before this series. Apparently, our high school student has studied that interpretation of Revelation at the Christian school, and could supply scripture references from notes. It's an interesting premise, and may be right, as far as I know, but I may want the high schooler to read "The Left Behind" series for a different viewpoint to consider.
The high schooler wants to read "The Last Disciple" series after me. Other reviewers either found not enough included scripture for a basis or felt like it was mostly theology, with a thin layer of story line. I found that the story line was the vast part of the book, with just enough scripture to make it plausible, without enough to have a full debate on the issue. Also, I don't think we'll really know which interpretation the end time will follow until it's obvious, so I would suggest leniency and good will towards the various opposing viewpoints.
It's worth considering, but not worth arguing, as long as we are all keeping our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our Faith. Some of the story line seemed to make Revelation a personal interpretation for the characters, rather than a public interpretation for all. I am not really sure what I think of that, and I'm not really sure if the story reads that way. Sep 05, Jorja rated it it was amazing Recommended to Jorja by: Damian convinces Vitas there is no harm in carrying the scheme a step further.
The Last Disciple 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. Meanwhile the early Christians must decipher it and cling to the hope it provides as they face the greatest of all persecutions. However, the badly beaten man who appears in the amphitheater is not who he seems. Rescued by a stranger and given a mysterious scroll, Vitas is told he must decipher this letter to find the answers he needs—a letter that Helius is also determined to decipher and to keep hidden from Nero.
Vitas is reunited with his wife and retires to Alexandria, determined to live a quiet, domestic life. Only then, as the prophecy of Jesus begins to unfold, does Vitas discover the true mission set before him and the astounding conspiracy behind it. False God of Rome. As Sure as the Dawn. The Road to Cana. Death in the Ashes. A Novel of Ancient Rome. According to Mary Magdalene. Mary Magdalene, the Thirteenth Disciple.
Paul, Apostle of Christ. The Kingdom and the Crown, Volume 2: Feast of Pontius Pilate. The Conspiracy to Assassinate Jesus Christ. The Gospel of Mariamne. Remnant of the Fall. The Flames of Rome. The Bard of Pendragon. The Pride of Babylon. The Life of the Virgin Mary. Johnnie Howell "John Howell Hicks. A Novel of the Rosary.
Refresh and try again. But, it was done beautiful and left with some hope for the characters in the future. Does this mean that the Temple could indeed fall? Paul, Apostle of Christ. Anyway, I found this story compelling enough to finish it. Life and Times of the Carpenter.
The Little Blog of Lucanus. Champions of the King. Life and Times of the Carpenter. The Trial of Pontius Pilate. The Lies of Saints.
Legend of the Gilded Saber. Justine McKeen, Walk the Talk. Phantom Outlaw At Wolf Creek.