This Pre-Tribulation Rapture view is one possible viewpoint on how the rapture events will take place.
1). The Lord Himself will descend from His Father's house, where He is preparing a place for us (John 14:1-3, 1 Thessalonians 4:16).
2). He will come again to receive us to Himself (John 14:1-3).
3). He will resurrect those who have fallen asleep in Him. Deceased believers whom we will not precede (1 Thessalonians 4:14-15) .
4). The Lord will shout as He descends ("loud command," 1 Thessalonians 4:16 NIV). All this takes place in the "twinkling of an eye" (1 Corinthians 15:52).
5). We will hear the voice of the archangel (perhaps to lead Israel during the seven years of the tribulation as he did in the Old Testament-1 Thessalonians 4:16).
6). We will also here the trumpet call of God (1 Thessalonians 4:16), the last trumpet for the church. (Don't confuse this with the seventh trumpet of judgment upon the world during the Tribulation in Revelation 11:15).
7). The dead in Christ will rise first (the corruptible ashes of their dead bodies are made incorruptible and joined together with their spirits, which Jesus brings with Him 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).
8). Then we who are alive and remain will be changed (or made incorruptible by having our bodies made "immortal" 1 Corinthians 15:51,53).
9). We will be caught up (raptured) together (1 Thessalonians 4:17).
10). We will be caught up in the clouds (where dead and living believers will have a monumental reunion (1 Thessalonians 4:17).
11). We will meet the Lord in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:17).
12). Christ will receive us to Himself and take us to the Father's house "that where I am, there you may be also" (John 14:3).
13). "And so we shall always be with the Lord" (1 Thessalonians 4:17).
14). At the call of Christ for believers, He will judge all things. Christians will stand before the judgment seat of Christ (Romans 14:10; 2 Corinthians 5:10), described in detail in 1 Corinthians 3:11-15. This judgment prepares the Christian for...(see numbe 15 below).
15). The marriage of the lamb. Before Christ returns to earth in power and great glory, He will meet His bride, the church, and the marriage supper will take place. In the meantime, after the church is raptured, the world will suffer the unprecedented outpouring of God's wrath, which our Lord called "the great tribulation" (Matthew 24:21).
JewishRoots.Net pages related to the Rapture include:
Are you prepared for the Rapture?
The Popular Encyclopedia of Bible Prophecy by Tim Lahaye and Ed Hindson p 310.
