Divine Encounters - Zecharia Sitchin-pages

Page 285 of 384

Page 285 of 384
Divine Encounters - Zecharia Sitchin-pages

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281 Figure 99 responsible for every malady, mishap, or misfortune. Incanta- tions were composed, prescribed appeals to the gods to call off the evildoers; amulets were made (to be worn or affixed to doorposts) whose "sacred words" could defy the demon depicted on the amulet—a practice that continued well into the latest pre-Christian times (Fig. 99) and has persisted thereafter. On the other hand, in post-biblical times and the Hellenistic Age that followed the conquests of Alexander, Angels as we think of them nowadays came to dominate popular and reli- gious beliefs. In the Hebrew Bible, only Gabriel and Michael are mentioned, in the Book of Daniel, out of the seven arch- angels that were listed in post-biblical times. The angelic tales in the Rook of Enoch and other books of the Apocrypha were just the foundation of a whole array of Angels inhab- iting the various heavens and carrying out divine command- ments—components of a wide-ranging Angelology that has captivated human imagination and yearnings ever since. And to this day, who does not wish for his or her Guardian Angel? Angels and Other Emissaries