The Last Cato is a masterful blend of Christian scholarship and thrilling adventure. This novel delves into the race to find the secret location of the Vera Cruz, the True Cross on which Christ was crucified, and the ancient brotherhood sworn to protect it.
Holy relics are disappearing from sacred spots around the world, and the Vatican will do whatever it takes to stop the thieves from stealing what is left of the scattered splinters of the True Cross. Brilliant paleographer Dr. Ottavia Salina is called upon by the highest levels of the Roman Catholic Church to decipher the scars found on an Ethiopian man's corpse: seven crosses and seven Greek letters.
These markings, symbolizing the Seven Deadly Sins, are part of an elaborate initiation ritual for the Staurofilakes, the clandestine brotherhood hiding the True Cross for centuries, led by a secretive figure called Cato.
With the help of a member of the Swiss Guard and a renowned archaeologist, Dr. Salina uncovers the connection between the brotherhood and Dante's Divine Comedy, racing across the globe to Christianity's ancient capitals. Together, they face challenges that will put their faith—and their very lives—to the ultimate test.
In 1517, Martin Luther nails his ninety-five theses demanding reform of the Catholic Church to the door of Wittenburg Cathedral, setting off a period of upheaval, war, civil war, and violence we now know as the Reformation.
In this age devastated by wars of religion, a young theology student adopts the cause of the heretics and the disinherited. Across the chessboard of Europe, from the German plains to the flourishing Dutch cities and down to Venice, the gateway to the East, our hero, a 'Survivor', a radical Protestant Anabaptist who goes under many names, and his enemy, a loyal papal spy and heretic hunter known mysteriously as "Q" play a game in which no moves are forbidden and the true size of the stakes remain hidden until the end.
What begins as a personal struggle to reveal each other's identity becomes a mission that can only end in death.
The Rapture of Canaan takes you on a journey into the lives of the members of the Church of Fire and Brimstone and God's Almighty Baptizing Wind. Here, the community spends their days and nights in the service of the Lord, eagerly awaiting the Rapture—the moment before the Second Coming of Christ when the saved will ascend to heaven, leaving the damned to face a thousand years of tribulation on earth.
Grandpa Herman, the founder of Fire and Brimstone, paints a terrifying picture of the tribulation: "We'd run out of food. Big bugs would chase us, stinging us with their tails. We'd turn on the faucet to find blood instead of water. Evil multitudes would come, severing our limbs, and we wouldn't die." Yet, he offers hope: "You can go straight to Heaven with all of God's special children if you'll only open your hearts to Jesus."
Ninah Huff, a 15-year-old girl, bears the weight of this damnation on her mind. To distract herself from sinful thoughts about her prayer partner, James, Ninah places pecan shells in her shoes and nettles in her bed. Despite her efforts, Ninah and James are drawn to each other, leading to tragic and transformative consequences for their community.
The Rapture of Canaan is a tale of miracles and transformations, where even the most stringent beliefs are challenged by the complexities of human emotions and the mysterious ways of the divine.