Archbishop Emmah Gospel Isong, the President and Founder of the Christian Central Chapel Int’l (CCCI) 8 miles, Calabar, who doubles as the National Publicity Secretary of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) once had a near-death experience mid-air in a Texas-bound flight.
Archbishop Isong, in the account below, narrated how he came back to life against all odds in a sheer demonstration of God’s glorious power to save, deliver and heal.
“In all the countries I have visited, the reception has always been marvelous. When I got to New Jersey and was received like a king, I had thought that I had seen it all. I had gone to New Jersey for the International Pastors and Ministers Conference, IPMC and was received and celebrated, conveyed from the airport in a limousine and lodged in the upper floor of a Sheraton Hotel in New Jersey.
But when I travelled to South Korea under the recommendation of the late Prelate Mbang to represent Nigeria in a World Leaders Conference, what I saw left me speechless. That conference was attended by more than 300 world leaders from 103 countries and it was one of my best. In Seoul, South Korea, we signed a charter to allow religious bodies to participate in policy making in the United Nations and in the African Union.
From these places, my feet have stepped into other counties and I have had meetings that have impacted nations and generations. I have gone to countries like the United States of America, United Arab Emirates, Jeddah- Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom, Canada, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Spain, Holland, Germany, Italy and Portugal. During my visit to Portugal, I slept in a hotel called Calabar Hotel located on Lagos Street. It was very wonderful experience. I have also been to The Bahamas.
In Africa, I have gone to Cameroun, Benin Republic, Ghana, Gabon, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Namibia, Zambia, Botswana, South Africa and Kenya, besides other countries.
But the trip to Texas, USA, to receive our first grandchild turned out to be the most challenging. I died midair and resurrected. It was our return flight. Earlier, we had upgraded all our tickets to business class, except my daughter’s ticket. We could not upgrade that one as the system could not effect the change.
I felt that it would be better for my wife and daughter to fly the business class while I move to the economy. I surrendered my business class sit for my daughter so she can be close to my wife and the new baby. I was very tired.
I could only recall how I moved from my seat and walked on the aisle towards the toilet because my tummy was rumbling. I didn’t know when I went down on the floor of the aircraft. My head was also aching. I died.
On the other side of life, I could hear announcements as the hostesses tried to handle the situation. They brought a stethoscope to do some random checks. Two people jerked and took me to the toilet area, apparently to avoid too much panic and attention. There were signals that I had gone.
My wife and daughter did not even know what was going on. They unbuttoned my shirt and did all they could to revive me. It was later on that they remembered to search for and then saw my boarding pass in my pocket and started shouting my name to draw the attention of those who accompanied me on the flight, having seen that I was not alone. But their pronunciation of my name did not help matters.
On the other side of life, I could hear somebody say ‘he is gone, he is gone.’ I could not say anything in response to that.
The hostess kept calling Mma-sun (that is Emmah Isong). Others were shouting Ison G(that is Isong Gospel because the “G” was abbreviated). Of course, neither my wife nor my daughter could decode what they were saying.
Right where I was, in the other world, I reminded God I could not live less than 100 years. I reminded him of his promise of long life. I think I was alive in the spirit but my physical body was dead.
In the midst of the confusion, a certain lady doctor who may have had some experience came around. She asked for and got ice blocks in a bag. She heaped the blocks on my feet. The shock was like that of an electricity. It was at that point that I opened my eyes and stood up.
Some of those who were around ran away. I was asked if I wanted some water and I said ‘no.'”
They poured water on my head, cleaned me up and put my shirt back on. Somehow, my wife got to discover that I was the one that the doctors and everybody were battling to rescue. It was then she recalled that someone had gone to meet her twice to ask if she was related to ‘Ison’ and she had said ‘no.
Eventually, God brought me back to life miraculously and I arrived Nigeria safely, with my wife, daughter and grandson.”
Culled from ‘Diamond from the Rough,’ authored by Archbishop Emmah Gospel Isong, National Publicity Secretary, Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) and President, Christian Central Chapel Int’l, Ikot Eneobong, 8 miles, Calabar.
