In "Demystifying the Book of Revelation," Fr. William Burton, OFM, accomplishes a difficult task: unpacking the complex symbolism of apocalyptic literature – and the Book of Revelation in particular – in a manner consistent with Catholic tradition while combating distorted interpretations that have come to dominate modern Christianity in recent decades.

Through six video segments Fr. Burton carefully lays out the historical and literary background of the Book of Revelation. Significant time is spent discussing the genre of apocalyptic literature in Jewish tradition and making connections between the symbols employed by John of Patmos and the situation of the early Church under Roman rule.

Fr. Burton also spends an entire segment debunking the popular “rapture” theory popularized by fundamentalist Christians and the Left Behind series.

The lecture by Fr. Burton is punctuated with artwork and video illustrations which, while not rising to the quality of other Catholic video series on the market, nevertheless serve the purpose of the material.

The DVD comes packaged with a short discussion guide containing questions for small groups, making the videos easy to use in a parish formation or educational setting.

Recommended for all libraries.

N.B.: I received a free review copy of this DVD from the Catholic Library Association. This review was originally published in the September 2015 issue of Catholic Library World. ( )