by Evan Ansot
“Close your eyes and keep praying,” said the rabbi.
“I can’t pray. They’re gone!” said Sarah.
Just as Sarah was finished speaking, a voice came from their circle that said, “Keep praying. They’re in heaven. They’ll be back.”
Sarah grabbed the tabbi’s hands and continued on with her prayer.
The rabbi smiled and continued, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.”
The Kingdom of Heaven Beginning at the one o’clock position, clockwise, stood Jessica Dudley. Next to her was Miriam Rabin. Next to Miriam was Jessica’s twin sister, Joan. Next to Joan stood Elizabeth Dudley. Next to Elizabeth stood Anna Rabin. Next to Anna stood Youssef. And next to him stood Gabriella, who held hands with Jessica and completed the circle of light.
These seven beings represented John the Baptist,Mother Mary, Elijah, Abraham’s wife Sarah, Mother Mary’s mother Anna, Ishmael, and Mary Magdalene. Seven descendants of Abraham praying for his soul.
Out of the circle of light arose a man. He looked to each one of the beings who were all deep in prayer. Blessing each, he announced, “I now go to your father.”
The Kingdom of Tartarus Lucifer had been continually wearing down the soul who had once been Abraham, Elkanah, Zechariah, Philip, and in his latest incarnation, Eddie Dudley. Doing every possible thing he can to take away this incredible being’s great faith.
Lucifer had promised Eddie half the kingdom of Tartarus, yet Eddie refused to budge. He promised him all the power on earth if he would just yield to his new master. Still no results from this man of great faith in the Father. Still, Lucifer pressed on.
“Tell me, Abraham, how did it feel when the Father asked you to sacrifice your only son to him? Was there any doubt then that you picked the wrong God?” asked Lucifer.
“Unlike you, I’ve never doubted the Father,” said Eddie. “But why wouldn’t you? He asked you for your only son. Well, that was the only son you had left after your sadistic God made you send your firstborn out into the desert to die!” hissed Lucifer.
“He didn’t send him there to die. He sent him there to make a great nation out of him,” said Eddie. His soul was getting weaker by the minute, and Lucifer knew it. These constant assaults on his body, his mind, and his soul were sapping him of any strength of will he had left.
“Oh, he made a nation, all right! One which has been against your other son’s nation ever since!” said Lucifer with satisfaction. He was breaking this soul who was once Abraham down to nothing. If he could destroy Abraham, he could destroy any future hope for Israel, bloodline or not. “Yes, Abraham, it is true. You can’t deny that your God forced you to send your first son away and then ask you to sacrifice your remaining son. And yet you love this God?”
“With all my being, I love this God,” answered Eddie. “Yet here you are. Shackled in Tartarus. After all you’ve done for him, he has abandoned you!” shouted Lucifer.
The being of Abraham and Eddie said nothing. He could only look down at what was left of his soul.
“That wasn’t the worst of it! After your God stopped you from killing your only son, he never spoke to you again! Sarah and Isaac left you to rot away in your old years! You were abandoned not only by your God, but your family as well!” Lucifer knew he had Eddie with this one. He knew Abraham’s pain was deep at the loss of his wife and son. He continued on with the assault. “The father of three religions turned to dust with no one to love him.”
Tears came out of Eddie’s eyes at the memory of his beloved Sarah and Isaac. It’s true; they did leave him, for they could never trust a man who would sacrifice his love at the request of a God.
“That wasn’t the only son you lost, was it?” said Lucifer. “You lost Samuel as well. When you came back as Elkanah, God took another son away from you and kept him for himself.”
“Samuel was a good son and a great prophet,”said Eddie.
“God’s son, not yours!” said Lucifer. “Another son taken from you by this so-called God whom you just can’t seem to stop worshipping!”
Eddie said nothing. Lucifer was cutting right into the heart of his being. It wouldn’t be long now, and he would be thoroughly defeated. Everything Lucifer was saying was true, and it would eventually consume him. His end was near.The being known as Abraham would soon be no more, in flesh or in spirit.
“And the pain given to you from the father didn’t stop there! Let us not forget your son called John the Baptist! Another son taken away from you by your God!” Lucifer knew that Eddie was at his end, and he wasn’t about to let him off the ropes. He knew the weakness of this being was his children, who were all taken away from him. “Yes, John! A man who knew not his true father, because once again, everyone join together now, your son was taken from you!”
“John had a mission to fulfill,” said Eddie.
“A mission without you!” yelled Lucifer. “Tell me, Zechariah, how did it feel when Herod’s temple guards sawed you in half ?”
“Herod made me a martyr, nothing else,” said Eddie.
“He made your son fatherless,” said Lucifer.
Lucifer paced around Eddie like a lawyer in a courtroom moving in for the kill. “There is more. Your son, Elijah, also taken from you by your God,” he said.
Eddie could only look on at Lucifer in despair. He was stuck here in Tartarus until his soul would eventually give in and then die forever. Never be seen nor heard from again. And his last memories will be that of Lucifer taking him on a memory quest from long ago. It just isn’t fair, he thought.
“It seems to me, Edward Dudley, that your soul has been nothing more than a sperm donor for the Father,” said Lucifer. “Isaac, Ishmael, Elijah, Samuel, John the Baptist, and now the children you’ve left behind this time around.”
“Because of an agreement long ago,” whispered Eddie. Whispering is about all he had the strength to do anymore.
“Oh yes! The covenant between God and Abraham! The reason this whole mess began!” said Lucifer.
Eddie could only nod.
“Let me see if my history is correct on this one. First, there was the promise of many descendants who would become great nations. There was the promise of land from the Nile to the Euphrates. There was the promise to make your name great. And finally, the promise that all the world shall be blessed through you. We shall call this last promise the sperm donor promise,” said Lucifer.
“And to bless those who blessed me and curse those who cursed me,” whispered Eddie.
“How could I forget?” said Lucifer. He was moving in for the final assault on the soul of Abraham, and he wanted to take his time and relish it.
“Let’s get back to the sperm donor promise. You lose all these children from Ishmael down to John the Baptist, but that’s not all. Look what has been taken from you this time around. You spent nearly your whole life not knowing you have any children out there, and lo and behold you have five of them!” said Lucifer.
“That is true. I have five children,” said Eddie. He was fading in and out of consciousness. The end was near, and it took all his strength to keep his head above water. Stay awake! Sleep and you will be no more! A still, small voice inside Eddie’s head whispered to him.
“One son that you got to meet for a big, whopping fifteen minutes! Once again, as on cue, another son taken from you,” said Lucifer.
The last of Eddie’s strength was spent on the tears that were now flowing down his face.
“Not to mention the four daughters, gone forever,” said Lucifer. “I will kill them all, one by one.”
“No!” Eddie managed to say. There went the last of his strength. It would be over really soon.
“Unless you bow to me,” said Lucifer. He had moved to within an inch of Eddie’s ears. Making sure the lifeless man in front of him could still strike a bargain. It wasn’t over yet, but it would be soon.
Eddie lifted his head and asked, “You promise to leave them alone?”
Lucifer was a
bout to answer, when at once, a brilliant white light—with a man inside whom Eddie recognized instantly—appeared in between the two of them.
“Philip, take my hand,”said the being in the light known to Philip as Jesus.
As Eddie lifted his hand, two lightning bolts were shot at him by Lucifer, destroying the last remaining being of the soul known as Abraham, Elkanah, Zechariah, Philip, and Eddie.
The Kingdom of Heaven Seven pairs of hands formed the circle in the courtyard of the kingdom of heaven. In the middle of the circle shone the brightest light that heaven had ever witnessed. Within the middle of the light stood the Son of Man. He smiled at the seven people who were praying and staring intently at him.
“Look what I’ve found,” said the Son of Man, Jesus the Christ. He then produced the soul of Edward Dudley to all those assembled who loved him.
“I’ll be there when you cross over. I love you all,” said Eddie.
Then Jesus escorted his friend Philip, also known as Eddie, also known as Abraham, also known as Zechariah, and also known as Elkanah, to the Father so that he could be with him forever.