The Return of Frank Calloway, Chapter 1 of 11
Frank Hears a Voice (Three Billion Beats Is Not Enough)
NOTE: What follows is a fictional account, but is based somewhat unloosely on future prophesied events and conditions, as clearly as I can imagine them unfolding and being realized. It will be interesting to one day see how far off I doubtless am in some of my ruminations, and possibly how close I am in certain others. It is written in first person, with Frank Calloway as the protagonist. You can read the five previous articles about him, following events in his (fictional) life from 1957 to 1997, via the following links:
Frank Calloway, Football Coach (1957; #1 of 5)
Frank Calloway, Teacher (1967; #2 of 5)
Frank Calloway, Attorney (1977; #3 of 5)
Frank Calloway, Mayor and Governor (1987; #4 of 5)
Frank Calloway, Jehovah’s Witness (1997, #5 of 5)
These were preceded by a series of 19 short articles about Frank’s father Jackson, his mother Crystalina, and he and his five siblings, which you can find here on “Some Random Notes from a 21st Century Geezer.” That series, Obituary of a Three-Century Man, was published from January 13th through February 4th, 2022. It covers Jackson Calloway’s life from 1899-2001.
Alternatively, you can read the last chapter in that series here, which contains a link to chapter #1 at the bottom; each article has a link to the following (chapter 1 has a link to chapter 2, chapter 2 has a link to chapter 3, etc.)
I died in 2021, at the age of 89, so I don’t know from firsthand experience, but will relate to you what I have been told, from people I completely trust, about what happened between my death and my resurrection. Then I will give you a brief first-hand account of what has happened from then until now.
When I died, I didn’t realize that I was dying. I mean, I knew I was old, and that death was probably going to come sooner rather than later for me, but it wasn’t as if there was some sort of countdown where I was thinking, ‘OK, I’m going to die today’ and later, ‘I’m dying now — goodbye, everybody.’ No, I was completely unaware of the imminence of my death. I died in my sleep. I had expected to wake up in the morning, the same as every other day in my life up until then. I had plans for the next day and had gotten some things prepared for an excursion; I knew what I was going to eat for breakfast and what I was going to wear that next day and had laid them out. It was not to be, though.
What did I die from? My body simply wore out. My brain was fine, and my spirits were good, but my heart had reached its limit. Three billion beats, and it was through pumping. I was 89, after all.
So when I was resurrected back to life, I was confused at first. A few years had passed since my death, but I thought it had been only a few hours since I had gone to sleep. I was lying supine on my bed — at least, I thought I was. I heard a resonant, pleasant voice say, “Frank! Frank Calloway! Wake up, my friend!” That’s funny, I thought — why would I dream of somebody saying that to me? I didn’t recognize the voice in my “dream,” but it sounded very reassuring, as if the person speaking was my friend, and was telling me to wake up because I was about to experience something very special.
I felt a warmth from above radiating into me, and detected — even through my closed eyelids — a bright yellowish light. I wondered how that could be. I smiled. The warmth felt good; then I realized that I felt extremely refreshed: no aches and pains, and no feeling of weariness. Normally it took my body and brain a while to really wake up and get the kinks and cobwebs out. Usually, I had to deliberately put both into motion before they would finally, gradually, limber up. For the first time in years — decades, even — I felt like leaping out of bed. But wait! It didn’t feel like I was in my bed, after all. I felt no covers on me. Where could I be, then? Of course, I had no idea at that time that I had just been resurrected, because I didn’t know I had died. Curious as to where I was and how I got there, I opened my eyes.
It appeared to be springtime. I was surrounded by vibrant wildflowers. I saw above me a brilliant azure sky interspersed with billowy cumulonimbus clouds. I sat up and looked around. I was in a meadow. I could see a forest in the middle distance. I saw a walkway or hiking trail about a hundred yards in front of me. I saw people leisurely strolling along it: families, couples, individuals. I could hear them talking, but only faintly — not well enough to make out what they were saying; but they sounded cheerful. I could see them clearly, but they were too far away for me to recognize anyone, except maybe by their gait — the word ‘jaunty’ came to mind as I observed them. But as I gazed wonderingly at those manifestly happy people, I realized that I was seeing them clearly even without my glasses! And the import of something I had already noticed came to me: I could hear them talking — at a hundred yards! I reached up to feel if I had left my hearing aids in when I had gotten into bed. I hadn’t. I was not wearing them. Then I noticed the twittering of the birds in the trees, too; even the rustle of the leaves in the light wind was audible to me.
It began to dawn on me.
I leapt to my feet. This must be the resurrection! That’s why I wasn’t in my bed. That’s why I felt full of energy instead of tired, and refreshed instead of groggy! So I had made it! I had been considered worthy of being brought back to life in God’s Kingdom, to experience what the Bible calls The Real Life! I fell to my knees and thanked Jehovah for His mercy and generosity toward me.
I was still curious about many things, though. The foremost questions in my mind were: Where was I? And when was it? What year was it, that is? I must have died in 2021, because that’s the last year I remember
But how much time had passed between then and now? Had I been sleeping a year? A decade? Longer?
Those were natural things for me to wonder about, but then some other questions occurred to me: Who (that I knew) was already here? Surely some had been resurrected before me, and could answer my questions and fill me in on the details. Doubtless some who had survived the Great Tribulation and Armageddon — and thus had not needed to be resurrected, having lived through those tumultuous events without ever having to die — were here, too. Where were they?
- Chapter 2 is here.