[Cronos]

There have been and still are, many groups in the Middle East that are in between the four big groups of Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Zoroastrianism.

The Samaritans claim they are the last remnants of the Israelite religion from before the Babylonian exile and keep the old ways distinct from rabbinical Judaism (Incidently the idea of angels and the Messiah -- would you say that comes from after the exile, and influenced by Zoroastrianism and Zoroastrian magi (priests)?)

Then you have Mandaens who claim Adam, Noah, John the Baptist etc as their prophets, but the Mandaeans believe that Abraham, Moses,Jesus and Muhammad were false prophets

then you have the Druze (The Druze call themselves Ahl al-Tawhid "People of Unitarianism or Monotheism" or al-Muwaḥḥidūn "Unitarians, Monotheists.") which seems a mixture of all four religious groups + Platonic ideals.

Then the Yazidi belief system, in which God created the world and it is now in the care of a Heptad of seven Holy Beings, often known as Angels or heft sirr (the Seven Mysteries). Preeminent among these is Tawûsê Melek (frequently known as "Melek Taus" in English publications), the Peacock Angel. According to the Encyclopedia of the Orient,

The reason for the Yazidis reputation of being devil worshipers is connected to the other name of Melek Taus, Shaytan, the same name the Koran has for Satan

Yazidis, however, believe Tawûsê Melek is not a source of evil or wickedness. They consider him to be the leader of the archangels, not a fallen angel. They also hold that the source of evil is in the heart and spirit of humans themselves, not in Tawûsê Melek

Then you have the Alawis (of whom the leader of Syria, Assad is one) who are strictly speaking a mixture of Christianity, Islam and Zoroastrianism again.

And in the first millenium, this mix was even crazier with Nestorians, Gnostics, Mazdaism, Manichaenism, Arians, pagan Arabic religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, etc. all vying for attention with the big four.

[jjotto]

Yep. The confusion went on from the time of Nebuchadnezzer, who ‘mixed up’ distinct populations, and then the Greeks mixed up ideas. That’s why Jews rely on an explicit history handed down from identifiable teacher to identifiable student. It’s a maze, as all scholars agree.

[kosta50]

There have been and still are, many groups in the Middle East that are in between the four big groups of Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Zoroastrianism

Apocalyptic Judaism was heavily influenced by Zoroastrianism (especially dualism) and through them Christianity. Of course, Christianity then became Hellenized by the end of the first century, taking it up "another notch," bam, bam (to borrow Emeril's famous line).

Prior to Babylonian captivity, the Jews did not have a concept of resident evil. Rather they believed that all evil came from God as punishment for their infidelity. God was the source of good and evil. That all changed in the middle of the 2nd century BC with events leading to the Maccabean revolt.

And in the first millenium, this mix was even crazier with Nestorians, Gnostics, Mazdaism, Manichaenism, Arians, pagan Arabic religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, etc. all vying for attention with the big four.

Don't forget numerous mystery religions as well, and that all of them were borrowing from each other and every major religion, including Egyptian, they could lay their hands on.