I have long shared the opinion that Kurt S. expresses, how that while the rapture will certainly involve a "twinkling of an eye" in it for our change from mortal to immortal, it certainly also must take longer than this to be completed. The reasons he states are all very valid and bear study for any who have not done so.
 
In this post I would like to take on the reason that I think so many have come to believe that the rapture would be instant and we just disappear into thin air leaving cars to crash or planes to fall from the sky etc. This must have come from somewhere and I believe it is because of an incorrect interpretation of that familiar passage that says "one taken and another left". This has for so long been mistaken to be a description of the rapture of the church when I think that there is reason to believe that it is not. It is describing a rapture, no doubt, but a rapture that happens much later than ours. Remember that Satan is the master imitator. Whatever God does, Satan will copy but distort and if God raptures His people to safety and salvation, then why couldn't Satan also rapture some of his victims to judgment and destruction?
 
Consider this verse:
 
Revelation 16:
 13.  And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
 14.  For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
  16.  And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
 
It is clear that there will be a gathering to the battle of Armageddon that involves evil, unclean spirits that work miracles in order to gather people from all over the earth to this battle. It doesn't say that they will all car-pool or take trains or troop transports or any other natural means to get these people there but that it involves working miracles. What sort of miracles will these unclean spirits be using do you suppose? Might it not be a teleporting suddenly at random where one is taken and another left? There may be natural means to get large numbers of troops there but these supernatural means will be for random victims from all over the world to join in the battle.
 
Jesus seems to describe this event when He is talking about the end times events to His disciples in this passage:
 
(And keep in mind that at this time our rapture had not yet been revealed because Paul later called it a mystery, meaning something not yet revealed that he was now revealing for the first time.)
 
Luke 17:
34.  I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.
 35.  Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
 36.  Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
 37.  And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.
 
The disciples ask Jesus where they will be taken to and He answers to a place of dead bodies as fallen in battle (the Greek word is very specific) and He adds that flesh eating birds will be gathered to feed on the flesh. Well the Bible tells of just such an event at the end of the tribulation:
 
Revelation 19:
17.  And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;
 18.  That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.
 
The picture being described for us is one of contrasts between God's kingdom and the devil's kingdom and what happens to those who end up in each. There is a supper in each kingdom. In God's kingdom there is the marriage supper of the Lamb where those gathered will be feasting happily.
 
This same chapter begins by describing this feast that is in heaven:
 
Revelation 19
 1.  And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God:
 2.  For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.
 3.  And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever.
 4.  And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia.
 5.  And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great.
 6.  And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
 7.  Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.
 8.  And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
 9.  And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.
 
And in Satan's kingdom there is the supper of the great God where those gathered are being eaten after dying.
 
This is the end of the story and the whole story is urging us all to choose which kingdom we want to be part of. Each kingdom has a rapture but one is by God to heaven and the marriage supper of the lamb at the beginning of the tribulation and the other is by Satan to the battle of Armageddon at the end of the tribulation.
 
In the passage from Revelation 16: 13-16 quoted above, I skipped the following verse because I wanted to handle this one separately:
 
Revelation 16:
15.  Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
 
This verse has been sometimes attributed to Jesus as if He were giving admonition to watch and keep your garment (spiritually) so you won't walk naked and be ashamed in a spiritual sense. But, for one thing the church has long since been gone by this time. Such admonition here seems strangly out of place.
 
Here it is again in its context:
 
Revelation 16:
 13.  And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.
 14.  For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
 15.  Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
 16.  And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
 
The plain context here is that the writer is making a comment on the ones who just got raptured to this place and he is simply pointing out that if they happened to be naked physically, (not spiritually or mystically or allegorically), for example if they were just getting into the bath tub or were in bed naked, then that is the way they will walk when they arrive miraculously at this battlefield. This rapture will come as a thief, suddenly and without warning. There will be naked people showing up along with the clothed ones, and when this happens it will naturally make those who had clothes on feel glad that they kept their clothes on so they wouldn't walk naked and be ashamed. If you take the old English word "blessed" off and just say "relieved" or "glad" or "happy" are those who were dressed at the time... Then you get the simple picture.
 
When you put it all together you have the plain picture of two different raptures to two different fates. One is heavenly being with God and one is hellish and being destroyed by God.
 
I think that this rapture to the battle of Armageddon will be instantaneous and people will just disappear into thin air but not at our rapture. We will see Jesus come back for us in the same manner in which the disciples saw Him go into heaven. They stood with Jesus and while He yet spoke to them He was taken up from them into heaven and they watched Him until He was covered by a cloud. We therefore can expect to see Him coming down in the clouds and speaking to us to join Him up there at some point with "Come up hither!"