I just finished reading The Last Disciple over the weekend after I picked it up at a used bookstore. The Last Disciple is preterism's answer to the Left Behind series.

Since preterism takes the view that much of what was foretold by John in the book of Revelation took place around the time of the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70, this book inserts some fictional characters into that setting, and tells a story that brings the history and exegesis behind the preterist position to life, much in the way the Left Behind series has for dispensational premillennialism.

I enjoyed the book. It was a tad bit disjointed, with a lot of different, and seemingly unconnected things going on at once. While it's not Umberto Eco or anything, it is complex, and I think that in a way not demanded by the plot. Maybe that's just me; I think I'm better at following an argument than following characters. I think it could have been thinned down some, but things do start to come together at the end.

It is intended as part of a series. The next book, The Last Sacrifice, just came out. Although I think I'll enjoy reading this series and recommending it to others, I think this diminishes much of the force of these books. Consider that dispensational premillennialism has a much greater following than preterism. The Left Behind series doesn't have to explain dispensationalism in a nutshell, since there's already a fairly widespread understanding of it. And its distinctive components (the rapture, tribulation, rise of AntiChrist, etc.) lend themselves to distinct volumes. But preterism is not well known. And it doesn't lend itself to a series of stories in that same way. I think a single volume would have better served to illuminate the essential features of preterism.

With all of that, I think you can probably see that this is a case where ideology drives the story. While that is generally a criticism, given that this was a response to the the Left Behind series, I don't have a problem with it. The afterward of a few pages discusses this basis of the series. This brings me to another point. Hank Hanegraff labels his version of preterism "exegetical eschatology." He has said, "I coined the phrase ' exegetical eschatology' to underscore the fact that above all else I am deeply committed to a proper method of biblical interpretation rather than to any particular model of eschatology." I'm sure he is, but somehow I find that label less than helpful. I don't think it would help the state of theology if R.C. Sproul decided to proclaim that he was a defender of "exegetical baptism," or James White announced his view as "exegetical soteriology," or . . . well, you get the idea. Whatever their flaws, dispensationalists certainly would demur to any suggestion that they derive their eschatology from a means other than exegesis.

I do have another criticism, but that acts as something of a spoiler, so I'll insert that in a comment below.