Battle of The Gods

By Luis Marrero

Battle of The Gods by Luis Marrero

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jul 25, 2022
• ISBN: 9798885408417

Book preview

Chapter 1

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, Let there be light, and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light day, and the darkness he called night. And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day. (Gen. 1:1–5)

S o what do you think of this place?

It’s beautiful, Father, said Adam as he admired the serene atmosphere.

It’s like our very own paradise, replied Eve shortly after.

Both were mesmerized as they strolled through the plush grassy meadows, taking in the sounds of the birds chirping through the air, the flow of the waters as they cascaded off the rocks downstream, and even the buzzing of honeybees as they went from flower to flower pollinating each one.

All of this, including the two of you I have created in my image, is for you to do as you please, wish, and desire. The only thing that I ask of you both is that you stay away from the trees of life and knowledge, spoke the Father. Do I make myself clear of this?

Adam and Eve looked at one another prior to looking to the Father, and both replied, Yes, we understand.

Eve, Eve, where are you? Adam shouted as he ran through the forest hastily. Eve! He passed by a pair of baby fawns, which were grazing on some luscious grass. His screams caught the attention of the deers, which sent them scurrying in the opposite direction of him.

I’m over here, she shouted upon hearing his calls. He turned to see her casually swimming in the crystal-clear pond.

How’s the water feel today? he asked, hearing the edge, preparing to enter the waters with her.

It’s just the perfect temperature, she replied as she pressed her hand together and pushed forward, sending a splash of water onto him. This caused Adam to dive into the waters, where they swam and frolicked for a while.

Why do you think that the Lord doesn’t want us touching the trees of life and knowledge? Eve asked as they were exiting out of the waters.

I do not know, Eve, but the Father says that we shouldn’t, and therefore we must oblige to his commands, Adam stated as he laid beside her on the grass to dry off with the help from the rays of the sun.

Well, I think that we should find out for ourselves exactly what will happen if we have of it, she said as she got up and sprinted toward the center of the garden—the garden of Eden. Upon hearing her words and footsteps, Adam opened up his eyes and noticed that she was no longer by his side. He quickly rose up onto his own two feet and gave chase after her. Being much faster than her, he closed the gap easily between the two of them. But the distance to the center of the garden was not that far off from the pond. And therefore, she made it to the trees just before he could reach out to stop her.

The trees were magnificent—standing strongly rooted into the ground and rising well above everything else. They were high above into the skies. The way in which the light illuminated through their branches gave them a radiant aura, which made them look mighty and angelic in comparison to the rest of the trees nearby.

Eve, don’t, Adam pleaded with her as she grasped out and pulled onto one of its fruit. You know that our Father warned us to stay clear of this tree and its fruit.

But it was as if she were in a trance as she continued to bring the fruit even closer to her mouth.

Don’t do it, Eve, he begged of her once more with the sounds of desperation waning faintly into the breeze as she slowly bit into the forbidden fruit. Its juices slowly seeped from the sides of her mouth from how soft and ripe it was.

You see, nothing to worry about, Adam, she replied as she wiped the droplets of fruit juice with her hand and then slurping them up before passing the fruit toward his direction. Here, you must try some. It’s delectable.

He hesitated for a moment as he continued watching her finish swallowing the remaining piece on her mouth. Noticing that nothing bad has occurred to her, he took ahold of the fruit and brought it ever so slowly toward his own mouth, closing his eyes first prior to partaking a bite of the fruit for himself. He let out a slight gasp as the sweet nectar landed upon his taste buds. Its savory flavor brought delight into him, leaving him in a euphoric state of bliss, which unbeknown to him enlightened his senses. Prior to opening his eyes, he saw a bright flash of light which had awakened his conscience.

And the Lord God said, The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach the tree of Life and eat, and live forever. So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. (Gen. 3:22–23)

Due to your disobedience, I banish you both from the garden of Eden and send you as outcast to live and roam among all of the beast of the land, declared the Almighty Father. You will rule above all of the animals until your dying days, for from dust you were created and to dust you shall return. I grant you longevity in life, but only as long as you refrain from committing any more sin and stay true to my Word.

Adam and Eve went on to live in the wilderness. Toiling the soils of the earth day in and day out in order to produce harvest, fruits, and vegetables to consume and survive. Within due time, they began to procreate and populate the lands with their own seeds, starting with Cain and Abel.

How can you sing praises to the Lord still with how he has treated us? Eve asked Adam one day while hearing him chanting to the skies above as he worked the fields with their children.

How can I not, my love? was his reply. After all, our punishment could’ve been far worse off if the Creator had wished. He secured the reins to the oxen for Cain to control. But yet our Father found favor on us. Granted us mercy and blessed us with all these wonderful things to continue living and becoming a prosperous nation.

Do you really consider this a great life! Eve shouted at the top of her lungs, resentment resonating after each word as she spoke. We must awaken each and every morning along with the sun, working until dusk comes. Tending to all of these livestock. Hunched over so much throughout the day, I look forward to nightfall so that my body could get rest. This is not a great life, Adam! A great life is what we had when we roamed freely through the garden of Eden, without any worries or stress in life. And definitely not any back pains or sore body parts come nightfall.

Adam looked upon his wife with saddened eyes. He felt immensely for her and for her pains. He too felt the aches of the day’s labor and at times shedding blood, sweat, and tears, depending on what the task of the day was. But within himself, he knew that this was what was to be done because of the sin which they had committed while living in Eden.

I am sorry, my love, and I promise to rub upon your aches tonight as we lay down to rest, he stated to her, trying to sound as comforting as he could while at the same time trying to put his soreness to the back of his mind so that he may continue with what he was doing.

Chapter 2

Then God said, Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. So God created mankind and his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God bless them and said to them, Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the Earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea, and the birds in the sky, and over every living creature that moves on the ground. (Gen. 1:26–28)

H ello and welcome to The Joint dispensary, where we’ll get you high but keep the prices low, Venus said, greeting the individual who had just entered into the store. This was her very own mantra, which she used to acknowledge all her customers.

How may I be of service to you today and is there anything in particular that you like or seek? she asked, her voice being soft-spoken and angelic like.

I am just browsing at the moment, for it is my first time here. The man spoke with a raspy tone to his speech. But so far, I do see something that I like, he said as he held his gaze on her eyes for a moment before beginning to glance upon all the beautiful flowers within the display racks. The comment brought a big smile on her face and a slight grin across his.

Well, my name is Venus, Vee for short, and I’ll be right here if you need any help, she said as she continued to attend to the customer in front of her.

So this might sound corny, but your name is out of this world, the man said as he placed his items onto the counter. I’m Mada, and it’s a pleasure to meet you.

They now stood face-to-face from one another. The comment made her blush and flustered to the point where she was fumbling his merchandise.

I’m so sorry. Will there be anything else for you? she asked as she bent over to pick up what she had dropped and placed it into the brown paper bag.

No, I think that’ll be all for today. Unless I can get your phone number or some way to contact you? he asked.

Woooh, Wilber, don’t you think that you’re moving too fast? she retorted back in a playful manner. We just met, but you know where to find me, and the store’s phone number is on your receipt.

Touché, that’s fair enough, Mada said as he grabbed his package of goodies and headed toward the door.

Oh, one last thing, Mada, Vee said right before he exited. That was a corny line you used, but I like your confidence. See you around, I hope.

Then God said, let the lands produce vegetation: plants bearing seeds according to their kind, and God saw that it was good, Mada recited the shortened version of Genesis 1:11–12 as he took a nice long drag of his blunt, holding in the smoke before releasing what seemed to be a cloud from his lungs.

This was one of his favorite passages of the Bible. He’d tell people, If God opposed marijuana, why would he speak about it in the very first page of the good book? And why would he name it after his two beloved ladies, Mary of Magdalene and Mother Mary?

Laying on his couch and listening to some Bob Marley, he replayed his interactions between Venus and himself over and over as he continued to puff away at his cigar filled of ganja.

See you around, I hope. See you around, I hope, her voice echoed in his mind as his eyes closed and he drifted off to sleep.

Little did she know that he lived off hope, as well as faith and the grandest of all emotions, love…

He woke up feeling well rested and rejuvenated. It was very seldom that Mada would get a full night of sleep without being awakened by some sort of ill feeling or one of his many weird visions about life—both from the past and sometimes things unknown to him that would eventually take place later on in life. He never considered himself as a psychic or anything in retrospect, for his visions never really helped anyone. But within himself, he did kind of feel like Nostradamus being able to kind of predict what was to come in the near future.

Although, he was not able to hone in on it accurately. This was something which he kept to himself and hardly ever shared with anyone. What got it tiresome to him was hearing that he was crazy, insane, hallucinating, or just had a wild and vivid imagination, especially when that doubt would come from those who were closest to him. He felt that if his very own family could ridicule him, what would the rest of the world think of him considering that he was a stranger? Not to mention the month he had to endure in the state mental institution as a teenager when he had the reoccurring dream of planes crashing into multiple buildings prior to 9/11 and the attack of the twin towers in New York. That was the first and last time he made a big issue about his visions. What he feared were the consequences that would come back on him. From that day forward, he bottled his visions within himself. But something, or someone, would always leave him feeling guilty about this.

Hello, thank you for calling The Joint. Can you please hold? Venus spoke into the phone.

Sure, but only if I must, replied the man on the other end. By the man’s accent and tone of voice, she kind of knew already who it was before placing the phone back on the receiver and attending to the multiple customers in the store. Freebie Fridays was always one of the busiest days of the week for multiple reasons. One, it was the beginning of the weekend. Two, it was payday. And of course, reason number three, the free merchandise that each and every customer received depending on how much their total purchase amount was. It helped even more that they could make many purchases throughout the day and still receive some type of item for free varying from accessories to edibles, ointments, and tinctures, or even some pre-rolled joints.

"Hey there, cornball, sorry for the wait.