In the twinkling of an eye...we will be caught up or snatched to Jesus, who at the rapture event, remains in the clouds and does not set foot on earth, as he does in the second coming... Read 1 Thess 4:13-18.

Rapture is the perfect word because it literally means aggressively pulled away or snatched, as a parent might do to a child who was in harms way. The bible is clear on the term and conveys the rapture precisely. First the dead in Christ rise first (resurrection), then we who are alive and remain (meaning we are still on earth at the moment of the resurrection of the dead) will be caught up to meet them in the air (this provides us timing information...we get raptured pretty darn quickly after the dead in Christ rise.

Take the bible for what it says or not, but it says what it says and the rapture verses are both clear and precise. It's not difficult to understand or interpret. Use Chuck Missler's (RIP) hermeneutics and you really cant go wrong.