End-time theology is wavering in the Christian church and a large number of Protestant pastors believe there is no rapture. Whether pre-tribulation or post rapture, a new study by LifeWay research reveals that pinning down details of the apocalypse among a group of pastors is hard to do.

Although the Scriptures make it clear that Jesus is coming back, researchers found varying views on three aspects of end-time theology: the rapture, the Antichrist and the millennial kingdom. Out of the 1,000 senior Protestant pastors surveyed, only a third (36 percent) believed in a pre-tribulation rapture where Christians disappear at the start of the apocalypse and those left behind suffer tribulation.

Thirty-six percent of pastors say the rapture is not literal, while almost 1 in 5 believe the rapture happens after the tribulation (18 percent). End-time theology is popular with churchgoers but it is not an easy topic to preach about, Scott McConnell, vice president of LifeWay Research, explained. FULL REPORT