No one, as far as I know, has a bag packed and all ready to go on vacation if they have no plans to go anywhere, the suitcase is only filled with items after the plans have been made, reservations are set and tickets are purchased. I believe there are quite a few people prepared for the Rapture in thought only, they have little to no idea what they are going to do after that moment, the only bag they have prepared is labeled “I want to escape all this insanity.”
If you spend any time speaking to them you will find that they are not the sort that applies Philippians 4:11 to their lives, “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” They are for the wrong reasons, and many of them quite selfishly, ill prepared to meet the Lord, in fact He is not the main reason to them, their discontentment is.
I could be wrong, and perhaps it was just not recorded in the Scriptures for us, but I don’t recall Paul ever praying for the Lord to get him out of the many prisons he was put into, I don’t recall John the Baptist doing that either. I do recall the children of Israel complaining quite a lot in the wilderness though, and that is how I envision some of these individuals as I contemplate these notions, they complain because life isn’t going the way they want it to, Philippians 2:14 is not on their minds at the moment, “Do all things without murmurings and disputings.”
They spend an inordinate amount of time in front of some form of monitor, seeing all that the world has become and is heading towards, and want to get out of here before the battle has even begun, in fact, truth be told, the only real adverse effects that comes upon them are on those cell phone, computer and television screens, they are rarely affected personally by any of what is occurring. “If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small.” (Prov. 24:10)
They have seen that it is “getting bad out there,” and they want to escape before it reaches their doorstep. Mot much of a witness for Christ if you ask to be excused from the battle, is it? Not much of a witness if you live in fear when we are commanded over and over again to “Fear not,” when 1 John 4:18 is revealed to us, “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.” When we have the promise that “And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.” (Deut. 31:8)
It is not courage that displaces fear, it is trust in Jesus Christ.
I could be wrong of course, but anyone who wants to be a part of the Rapture simply for the reason of leaving the battlefield is not much of a soldier for Christ and has placed being in His presence second to their own personal safety. Perhaps John 12:25 needs to be placed here as a reminder, “He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.” And if that verse does not alter your thinking, then Philippians 1:21 should, “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
In many of the letters written to you, you will see this statement, “We are not to be concerned about the circumstances that surround us at the moment, or the possible consequences to ourselves.” Where you are, if indeed you are a humble servant of the Lord, if you are truly attempting to live a life that glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ, is right where God wants you to be, and if you are living in fear, I can attest that is not where you are. If you are warning all who will listen about these days and those that are approaching, well and good, if your main concern is to get out of here so that you do not have to personally experience any of the tribulations that are abounding, then you are living for yourself, not Christ. That is not the crucified life we are to live.
