Who believes The Pre Tribulation Rapture?
I think about 15% of Christians believe it.
Summary:
Assemblies of God @ 65 million x est. 90% = 58.5 million
Calvary Chapel @ 25 million x est. 90% = 22.5 million
Pentecostalism @ 280 million x est. 75% = 210 million
Baptist churches @ 75-105 (90) million x est. 60% = 54 million
Methodism @ 30-80 (55) million x est. 50% = 27.5 million
Total: 372.5 million believe the pre tribulation rapture.
Divided by 2.5 billion Christians?
= 15% of Christians believe in the pre tribulation rapture.
More detailed analysis for how I got this estimate is below:
See, for the largest groups of Christians, by number:http://www.adherents.com/adh_rb.htmlandhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Christian_denominations_by_number_of_members
Here are the Largest Christian denominations in the world, followed by their number. And finally, do they believe it?
Catholicism – 1.2 billion. No.
Protestantism – 800 million. Some.
Eastern Orthodoxy – 225–300 million. No.
Oriental Orthodoxy – 86 million. No.
Anglicanism – 85 million. No.
Restorationism and Non-Trinitarianism – 41 million. No.
Total Christians: About 2.5 billion.
As of the early 21st century, Christianity has approximately 2.4 billion adherentshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian#Demographics
Catholicism – 1.2 billion –no. “The Catholic position has thus historically been “amillennial”” http://www.catholic.com/tracts/the-rapture
Protestantism -800 million — varying, as follows, below:
Baptist churches – 75-105 million — varying. “Beliefs among Baptists regarding the “end times” include amillennialism, dispensationalism, and historic premillennialism, with views such as postmillennialism and preterism receiving some support.” “Some doctrinal issues on which there is widespread difference among Baptists are: Eschatology”https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baptists
Lutheranism – 65-90 million no. “Scripture teaches that all Christians will endure varying degrees of “tribulation” until the last day, that Christ will return only once (visibly) to “catch up” (“rapture”) all believers, living and dead, into heaven, and that all believers will reign forever with him in heaven. Lutherans understand the “1,000 years” of Rev. 20:11-15 to be a figurative reference to Christ’s reign here and now in the hearts and lives of believers, which will culminate in our reigning with Christ forever in heaven following his return on the last day.”http://www.lcms.org/faqs/doctrine#rapture
Reformed churches – 55-85 million (Calvanism & (Including Presbyterianism). Generally, no. “I am not saying there is none to be found, just that among the main Calvanists leaders I have never encountered it”http://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/8750/calvinist-view-on-tribulationhttp://jeff.mikels.cc/posts/you-cant-be-both-pre-trib-and-calvinist/
Methodism – 30-80 million No, and yes, maybe/unknown, some.
1. “No: United Methodist Chaplain American University”http://www.aumethodists.org/devotional/will-there-be-a-rapture/
2. Yes:”The Second Coming of ChristWe believe that the culmination of human history is designed byGod and will occur according to His timing. The literal interpretationof scripture reveals that Christ will rapture His faithful in the twinkling of an eye, after which the anti-christ will be revealed, and the wrath of God poured out upon the earth. After seven years of tribulation, Christ is revealed in His glory and comes to reign for one thousand years on the earth. After this millennial reign, the earth will be destroyed, and a new heaven and new earth will be provided for the faithful to live in the presence of God forever.”Congregational Methodist Churchhttp://www.cm-church.org/#/who-we-are/our-doctrine
3. Maybe: “When will the Rapture occur?There are three main beliefs regarding the time frame of the Rapture: The most popularly taught view among Christian faiths is known as the Pre-Tribulation Rapture” (no opinion offered as to timing).http://www.mtcalvarybville.org/rapture.php
4. “Some — perhaps even a great many — United Methodists certainly do believe in a literal, future 2nd Coming of Jesus Christ. I have known many who do, including many members of some of the churches which I have pastored. I, myself, have such an understanding, though this expectation is only a minor part of my theological understanding and faith in the present and coming Kingdom of God. I do NOT share the current fad of “end times” speculation, nor do I believe in a “pre-tribulation” rapture of any kind.”http://en.allexperts.com/q/Methodists-957/2009/10/2nd-Coming-Christ.htm
Pentecostalism – 280 million Many, Majority, yes.
Many, if not the majority, of Pentecostals are premillennial dispensationalists believing in a pretribulation rapture.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentecostalism#Eschatology
(Including Assemblies of God, Church of God, Apostolic,)
Assemblies of God – 65 million Yes!
The “imminent and blessed hope” of the Church is its rapture preceding the bodily return of Christ to earth.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assemblies_of_God_Statement_of_Fundamental_Truths
“The weight of Scripture supports a pre-Tribulation Rapture. “http://ag.org/top/Beliefs/position_papers/pp_downloads/pp_4182_rapture.pdf
Calvary Chapel – 25 million – Yes.
Calvary Chapel is evangelical, charismatic, pretribulationisthttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvary_Chapel
“Reasons to Believe in a Pre-Tribulation Rapture”http://www.calvaryoxnard.org/2010/reasons-to-believe-in-a-pre-tribulation-rapture
“Rapture- We believe in the Pre-Tribulation Rapture of the Church through which all believers will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, and be taken out of the world prior to the Tribulation that will then come upon the earth (Isaiah 26:20; Matthew 24:29-31; Luke 21:36; Romans 1:18, 5:9; 1 Thessalonians 1:10, 4:13-16 and 5:9; 2 Peter 2:7-9; Revelation 3:10, 5:7-10 and 7:13-14).”http://calvarychapel.com/about/doctrine/view/doctrine/
Seventh-day Adventist Church – 18.1 million – No. “Adventists reject dispensationalist theology and the pretribulation rapture”https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seventh-day_Adventist_theology
—–
Eastern Orthodoxy – 225–300 million — No.
“Such opinions seem odd to Orthodox Christians”http://www.orthodoxresearchinstitute.org/articles/dogmatics/cozby_rapture1.htm
“There is no-pre-tribulation “rapture”, nor is there a one thousand year reign taught in the Holy Scriptures,”http://www.stkatherineorthodoxchurch.org/questions-and-answers.html#answer-28
Oriental Orthodoxy – 86 million — No.
Q1: I heard that the rapture would be before the great tribulation. Is this true?A1: No it is not true .The rapture as explained in Lecture I above, will take place after the great tribulation, on Judgment Day.However, some Protestant sects teach that the believers are going to be removed from the earth prior to thegreat tribulation. This teaching is false for the following reasons:http://www.suscopts.org/messages/lectures/eschlecture2.pdf
Anglicanism – 85 million (Episcopal, Church of England) — No.
The Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church,[7] the Anglican Communion and many Protestant Calvinist denominations, have no tradition of a preliminary return of Christ and reject the doctrine.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapture(Note: John Nelson Darby, who first popularized the pre tribulation rapture, chose ordination as an Anglican clergyman in Ireland, but left it.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Nelson_Darby
Restorationism and Non-Trinitarianism – 41 million No.(Primarily Jehovah’s Witnesses and Mormons.)
To sum up:
The largest and most fervently believing group that believes in the pretribulation rapture is the Assemblies of God. 65 million, with a 4 page position statement. This is interesting, in that the Assemblies of God is a very loose organization of independent Churches.
The next largest, strongest group is Calvary Chapel – 25 million
The next group is larger, but only “mostly” believes.
Pentecostalism – 280 million Many, Majority, yes.
Next, weaker in beliefs:
Baptist churches – 75-105 million — varying.
Even weaker:Methodism – 30-80 million (yes, no, maybe
Of the 6 major groups, only 1 has believers in the pretribulation rapture to any extent, “protestants” at 800 million, and several major denominations among them do not believe it, (which we can substract from the 800 million?) including:
Finally, the largest protestant groups rejecting the belief:
Lutheranism – 65-90 million no. Reformed churches – 55-85 million (Calvanism & (Including Presbyterianism). Generally, no.Seventh-day Adventist Church – 18.1 million – No.