Archangel Raphael: The Healer & Prince Of Hades: Angels Of Jewish Lore (Part 9): Angels & Demons

Raphael, the healer, the giver of health, the angel of compassion, the lord of the sun, the angel of the west and of the west wind, he who rules over the element of air. He is the chief guardian angel of the tree of life, a prince of the cherubim, and of the dominations, and of the order of virtues. He is one of the seventy amulet angels invoked during childbirth. The Kabbalah calls him the angel of Hod, the splendor of the Sephiroth. He is one of the seven angels of revelation, and among the seven angels who stand before the glory of the lord. He is a ruling prince of the second heaven, the governor of the day of Wednesdays. It is he who gives knowledge of the science and art of healing. Raphael originated from the lore of the Chaldeans in southern Babylon, and is said to preside over the healing of the diseases and injuries of the children of men. The Zohar says he is charged with healing the earth. It is through him the earth becomes a favorable abode for mankind. The Jews say Raphael was first called Labiel when God first formed him, and was given his current name when he agreed to God's command on the creation of man. Like the archangel he is, he is described as having many pairs of wings, some say six wings, each of them bearing as many eyes as there are men in the world. According to the book of Enoch, as well as the Zohar and the legends of the Jews, Raphael is not only the angel of healing and of light, he is also the prince of Hades, a king in the eastern part of the underworld, ruling alongside Uriel, who is the prince of Tartarus. He is charged with handling the souls of the departed, who have been deemed guilty by Metatron, the judge, and cast into the abyss by Gabriel, the punisher. When he attends to the matters of the underworld and the souls of the dead, Raphael goes by the name Azariah. So says the book of Tobit. For this very reason, the Zohar calls him one of the many kings of hell, equating him specifically to the hellish king Baal, who rules in the eastern region of the underworld with 66 legions of spirits under his command. But how? How could a renowned angel of light become entangled with the dark realm of the underworld and the fiery pit of hell? Many would ask. If there is one thing these sources agree with, it is that just because Raphael is a keeper of the underworld does not mean he is evil. He is a spirit charged by the supreme with handling the souls of the dead, much like Metatron and Gabriel, presiding specifically over sinful souls who have been cast into the realm of darkness and the fires of hell. He executes the will of the supreme upon these damned souls, be it to grant the chance of rebirth or damn them to eternal destruction. Perhaps, this is a task that cannot be entrusted to the fallen angel kings of the fiery realm of hell, who rebelled against the god of the angels, and so forth, are free-willed and bear no allegiance towards him. There is a story of how Raphael overcame the great demon Asmodeus, who claimed ownership of a young beautiful woman and her abandoned household, killing any suitor who dared to approach her. Once upon a time, in the book of Tobit, there was a pretty maiden called Sarah, who lived in the city of Ecbatana, in the land of Medea. Except for her parents, Raguel and Edna, Sarah was hated and reproached by the servants of her household, most especially the female servants. Why was that? Because seven times did Sarah marry, and seven times was she widowed, for Asmodeus had fallen in love with her, killing each one of her husbands on their wedding night, before they even had the chance to touch their newly wedded bride. On a fateful day, one of the maids of the house told Sarah, saying, look here, you husband-killer, you've already had seven husbands, and none of them lived long enough to give you a son, because you killed them all. Why don't you join your dead husbands in the grave? I hope we never see a child of yours. Depressed and in tears, Sarah cried out to the God of the heavens to free her from the shackles of he who held her against her will, or grant her a swift death instead, so she would never hear the unbearable insults of people again. The cries of Sarah were heard, and her prayers were answered, for God sent Raphael to her rescue, and to expel the demon who troubled her. Tobias, the son of Tobit and cousin to Sarah, came to fall in love with Sarah, and was chosen to be her next husband. But for the fear of what had happened to her previous suitors, Tobias would not have anything to do with her. And right there did Raphael interfere, for the angel visited the house of Tobias and his father Tobit, disguised as a mortal man, and encouraged Tobias to carry on with his plans to marry Sarah. On their way to the home of Sarah, the angel had Tobias catch a huge fish by the river. This was no ordinary fish. It was the glanos, the same fish the great Asmodeus deeply despised. Raphael instructed Tobias, saying, Cut out the heart and the liver of the fish, and keep it with you. The heart and liver can be burned, and used to chase away a demon, or an evil spirit that is tormenting someone. The attacks will stop immediately, and the person will never be troubled again. And so, Tobias wedded Sarah, and did exactly as instructed by the angel, burning an incense of the heart and liver of the glanos fish in their chambers. As the couple slept that night, Asmodeus appeared in their chambers to eliminate this insolent young man who dared to take on his bride. Did he not know who he was up against? And did he not know what would befall him? But as soon as Asmodeus entered their bedroom, he caught the scent of the burning fish, and it so much repulsed him, that he forever fled from the life of Sarah into the land of Egypt. The book of Tobit says it was Raphael who banished him to that place. Finding a new place in the land of Egypt, where the people revered and worshipped him as a god, Asmodeus would have no need to return to Sarah, and she would be free from him forever.