A Postdiluvian Visitation
by
Damien F. Mackey
‘I am Raphael, one of the seven angels who stand ever ready to enter the presence of the glory of the Lord’.
Tobit 12:15
The extraordinary events narrated in the Book of Tobit are interwoven with the reigns of successive, and truly historical, C8th BC neo-Assyrian kings; whilst the very long life of Tobit’s son, Tobias, as the prophet Job, will extend even as far as the early Chaldean period. See my:
Stellar Life and Career of the holy Prophet Job
Could it be then, that, with the whole saga written down by Tobit, at the command of the angel Raphael (Tobit 12:20): ‘Now bless the Lord on earth and give thanks to God. I am about to return to him who sent me from above. Write down all that has happened’, a knowledge of the structure of the heavenly court as revealed by Raphael, with its “seven angels” in attendance upon the heavenly King, was later emulated by the earthly kings when they had heard report of it?
One cannot help thinking of this when, for instance, one reads of the Medo-Persian:
“King Ahasuerus” of Book of Esther
– who was King Cyrus – that his court consisted of seven eunuchs allowed entrance to his presence (Esther 1:10): “On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, and Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven eunuchs that served in the presence of Ahasuerus the king …”.
Others have recognised here a comparison with Revelation 1:20.
For instance http://pillarofenoch.blogspot.com.au/2009_03_01_archive.html
Interestingly, there are seven eunuchs, and seven princes who serve the king, and are his closest confidantes (Esther 1:10, 14). The seven eunuchs go to fetch Queen Vashti into the king’s presence, but she refuses to come – in apparent mimicry of the Israelites who refused to go up to the top of the mountain with Moses to meet with Yahweh face to face (Exodus 20:19). It is therefore the seven princes who help the king to decide the disobedient woman’s fate as a defiant wife and queen.
… it seems likely that the seven eunuchs and princes who serve the Persian king represent the Seven Churches of Revelation. For example, the seven eunuchs and seven princes seem directly tied to the following Scripture:
“The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches.” – Revelation 1:20 (NKJ)
The seven angels in this verse can be directly connected to the seven eunuchs of King Ahasuerus’ court, while the seven lampstands, or churches are easily equated with the seven princes who serve the same king! ….
[End of quote]
In what follows, the activities of the angel Raphael as narrated in the Book of Tobit will be briefly considered, and will later (Part Two) be compared with what the apocryphal Book of 1 Enoch has to say about this same Raphael.
Angel Raphael in the
Book of Tobit
The following provides us with a basic summary of the activity of Raphael in the Book of Tobit http://www.straphaeloil.com/book-of-tobit/
The Book of Tobias, as it is called in the Latin Vulgate Bible, is also known as the Book of Tobit. It is one of the most delightful books of Hebrew Scripture, the Old Testament of our Bible. The father is called Tobit – Τωβßτ in the Greek Septuagint and his son is named Tobias – Τωβßας.
It is set in the ancient Assyrian capital of Nineveh sometime between the latter part of the 8th century BC, after the defeat of the kingdom of Israel by Assyria, and the destruction of Nineveh in 612BC. The language of the original was either Aramaic or Hebrew; the oldest surviving complete text is, however, in Greek. In 1955 fragments of the book in Aramaic and in Hebrew were recovered at Qumrân. (Dead Sea Scrolls)
The book begins with Tobit, an Israelite of the Northern Kingdom who was deported to Nineveh, who suffers blindness. Sarah in Media suffers torment. Because of their good life and prayers, God sends the Archangel Raphael to help them. The virtuous young Tobias the Son joins the disguised Raphael on a journey to Media on his father’s behalf, and brings happiness both to his Father and Sarah. Archangel Raphael heals Tobit of blindness, he protects and guides Tobias on his travels and he delivers Sarah from an evil demon. Tobit, Tobias and Sarah were beset by trials and difficulties to purify them, but they remained steadfast in their faith during the period of testing, and eventually enjoyed God’s blessings and mercy. All prayed for deliverance and God sent St. Raphael. The longest recorded speech of an angel is the Archangel Raphael in Chapter 12.
Mackey’s comment: Here is that angelic speech (12:6-21):
Then Raphael took them both aside and said, ‘Bless God, utter his praise before all the living for the favour he has shown you. Bless and extol his name. Proclaim before all people the deeds of God as they deserve, and never tire of giving him thanks.
It is right to keep the secret of a king, yet right to reveal and publish the works of God as they deserve. Do what is good, and no evil can befall you.
‘Prayer with fasting and alms with uprightness are better than riches with iniquity. Better to practise almsgiving than to hoard up gold.
Almsgiving saves from death and purges every kind of sin. Those who give alms have their fill of days; those who commit sin and do evil bring harm on themselves.
‘I am going to tell you the whole truth, hiding nothing from you. I have already told you that it is right to keep the secret of a king, yet right too to reveal in a worthy way the words of God.
So you must know that when you and Sarah were at prayer, it was I who offered your supplications before the glory of the Lord and who read them; so too when you were burying the dead.
When you did not hesitate to get up and leave the table to go and bury a dead man, I was sent to test your faith, and at the same time God sent me to heal you and your daughter-in-law Sarah.
I am Raphael, one of the seven angels who stand ever ready to enter the presence of the glory of the Lord.’
They were both overwhelmed with awe; they fell on their faces in terror.
But the angel said, ‘Do not be afraid; peace be with you. Bless God for ever.
As far as I was concerned, when I was with you, my presence was not by any decision of mine, but by the will of God; he is the one whom you must bless as long as you live, he the one that you must praise.
You thought you saw me eating, but that was appearance and no more.
Now bless the Lord on earth and give thanks to God. I am about to return to him who sent me from above. Write down all that has happened.’ And he rose in the air.
When they stood up again, he was no longer visible. They praised God with hymns; they thanked him for having performed such wonders; had not an angel of God appeared to them?
The article continues:
The message of the book is that God is both just and free. Suffering is not a punishment but a test. God in the long run does reward the just and punish the wicked. The believer is called upon to trust God and live his way. The book is rich in principle, and presents the sanctity of marriage, intercession through Angels, reward of good works, and parental respect, as well as the importance of prayer in our daily lives, fasting, and especially almsgiving in expiation of sin (12:9). Raphael reveals himself in a fascinating statement in Chapter 12, as “the angel Raphael, one of the seven who stand before the Lord” (12:15).
Even though the setting takes place in the eighth century BC, it is thought the book was written after the time of Ezra, and thus it was not included in the shorter Hebrew Canon. However, the book was part of the Old Testament Greek Septuagint, and has always been considered inspired by both Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches. The recent discovery of the book with fragments in both Hebrew and Aramaic among the Dead Sea Scrolls in Cave IV of Qumran has given the book renewed attention.
[End of quote]
What especially interests me is the angel Raphael’s action of binding the evil demon Asmodeus, “the worst of demons” (Tobit 3:8), as it has a parallel with Raphael’s work in the Book of 1 Enoch. Thus we read in Tobit 8:1-3:
When they had finished eating and drinking, they wanted to retire. So they brought the young man out and led him to the bedroom. Tobias, mindful of Raphael’s instructions, took the fish’s liver and heart from the bag where he had them, and put them on the embers intended for incense. The odor of the fish repulsed the demon, and it fled to the upper regions of Egypt; Raphael went in pursuit of it and there bound it hand and foot. Then Raphael returned immediately.
Greek mythology does not have angels such as we find in the Judaeo-Christian tradition. So, when the Greeks appropriated bits and pieces of the books of Tobit and Job, re-casting them in a distinctively Greek form, the angel Raphael, for instance, was replaced by the goddess Athena, and the demon Asmodeus, by the god Poseidon. Previously I have written about this:
The two chief male characters. Tobit and his son, Tobias/Job, equate approximately to Odysseus and his son, Telemachus.
(Unlike the pious Tobit, though, Odysseus was a crafty and battle-hardened pagan, with a love of strong drink and an eye for women {goddesses}. But he nevertheless pined for his true wife, Penelope).
The Suitors. These unpleasant and self-serving characters are especially prominent and numerous in The Odyssey. In the Book of Tobit, “seven” suitors in turn meet an unhappy fate in their desire for Sarah.
The Sought-After Woman. In The Odyssey, she is Penelope. She is Sarah in the Book of Tobit.
The ‘Divine’ Messenger. From whom the son, especially, receives help during his travels.
In the Book of Tobit, this messenger is the angel Raphael (in the guise of ‘Azarias’).
In The Odyssey, it is the goddess Athene (in the guise of ‘Mentes’).
Satan, or Adversary (Book of Job). He is Poseidon in The Odyssey, the god who hounds down the story’s hero. He is Asmodeus in the Book of Tobit.
The angel Raphael, a healer, and also binder of a demon in postdiluvian times, had previously, in antediluvian times both healed and bound a demon, according to the Book of 1 Enoch.
Part Two:
An Antediluvian Visitation
by
Damien F. Mackey
And again the Lord said to Raphael: ‘Bind Azazel hand and foot, and cast him into the darkness: and make an opening in the desert … and cast him therein. And place upon him rough and jagged rocks, and cover him with darkness, and let him abide there for ever, and cover his face that he may not see light. And on the day of the great judgement he shall be cast into the fire’.
Enoch 1, Ch. 10
It needs to be noted here immediately that 1 Enoch is not part of the scriptural canon.
Scholars, generally, consider the book – or at least much of it – to have been written (c. 200 BC) before the time of the Apostles, some of whom, at least, may have been influenced by it.
According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Enoch
The authors of the New Testament were familiar with the content of the story and influenced by it:[5] a short section of 1 Enoch (1 En 1:9 or 1 En 2:1 depending on the translation) is quoted in the New Testament, Epistle of Jude, Jude 1:14–15, and is attributed there to “Enoch the Seventh from Adam” (1 En 60:8). The text was also utilised by the community that originally collected the Dead Sea Scrolls.
[End of quote]
There are some elements I find common to Enoch 1 and the Book of Tobit.
The angel Raphael, of course.
The particularly evil demon.
The female object of desire by the demon(s).
The holy man, observer and scribe.
We shall encounter all of these in the course of this series:
Angel Raphael in the
Book of Enoch
The Nephilim
Whitney Hopler has written about Enoch 1, the angel Raphael, and the demons, as follows in her article, “The Watchers and Nephilim Damage Earth and Archangel Raphael Heals It”. I give relevant parts of it here with comments http://angels.about.com/od/AngelsReligiousTexts/a/The-Watchers-In-1-Enoch-God-Assigns-Angel-Raphael-To-Heal-The-Earth.htm
The book of 1 Enoch, which is part of the Christian and Jewish apocrypha (non-canonized books of the Bible and Torah), describes how demons (fallen angels) called the Watchers corrupt the people on Earth by teaching them a variety of sinful practices and having sex with them, creating giant offspring called Nephilim.
Mackey’s comment: The philosophically-minded (and myself as well) have great difficulty with the notion of fallen angels (demons) “having sex” with human beings. (Cf. Genesis 6:2)
It seems metaphysically absurd.
The demon Asmodeus, in the Book of Tobit, does not attempt to have sexual intercourse with Sarah, with whom he has fallen in love, but he does terminally prevent Sarah’s husbands from consummating their marriage (6:14-15):
Tobias replied to Raphael, ‘Brother Azarias, I have been told that she has already been given in marriage seven times and that each time her bridegroom has died in the bridal room. He died the same night as he entered her room; and I have heard people say it was a demon that killed them, and this makes me afraid. To her the demon does no harm because he loves her, but as soon as a man tries to approach her, he kills him’.
And I think that there may be a parallel here with the situation in that most intriguing verse of Genesis 6:2: “The sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful; and they took wives for themselves, whomever they chose”. The Hebrew word, nashim (נָשִׁים), translated as “wives”, appears to have a broader meaning, including e.g. “females”, “girls”.
Sarah had to suffer demonic obsession from Asmodeus, but, in other cases, the “sons of God” – presuming that this most controverted phrase actually refers to angels (gone bad) – may have possessed women at will, perhaps indicating a willingness on the part of the women. The mystical Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich (d. 1824) claimed to have witnessed in vision this widespread demonic possession of antediluvian womanhood, these women being apparently willing accomplices (Life of Jesus Christ, Vol. I):
I saw Cain’s descendants becoming more and more godless and sensual. They settled further and further up that mountain ridge where were the fallen spirits. Those spirits took possession of many of the women, ruled them completely, and taught them all sorts of seductive arts. Their children were very large. They possessed a quickness, an aptitude for everything, and they gave themselves up entirely to the wicked spirits as their instruments. And so arose on this mountain and spread far around, a wicked race which by violence and seduction sought to entangle Seth’s posterity likewise in their own corrupt ways. Then God declared to Noe His intention to send the Deluge.
[End of quote]
Rather than the “sons of God” being the physical (impossible) progenitors of those “very large” children, presumably the Nephilim of Genesis 6:4: “The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown”, they were more realistically the demonic driving force behind the human procreation of an extraordinarily different type of human being – extremely strong, clever, cunning, capable, violent and wicked.
Neanderthalic, perhaps.
(b) Angels (Demons) Incorporeal
Tobit and Tobias were terrified
and fell to the ground, trembling with fear. But Raphael said to them, ‘Don't
be afraid; everything is all right. Always remember to praise God. He wanted me
to come and help you; I did not come on my own. So sing God's praises as long
as you live. When you thought you saw me eating, I did not really eat anything;
it only seemed so’.
Tobit 12:16-19
The archangel Raphael is an
interesting study and contrast with those spirits who had fallen.
Perfectly content being in heaven, he
apparently did not volunteer to come out of his place (v. 18): ‘He wanted me to
come and help you; I did not come on my own’. Not so the angels referred to by the
Apostle Jude (1:6) – {in a verse that is often thought to have been influenced
by Enoch 1}: “… angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their
proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of
the great day”.
For the sake of his earthly disguise,
the angel Raphael will adopt a Hebrew name and patronymic (Tobit 5:10-12):
And Tobias said to him: ‘I pray thee, tell
me, of what family, or what tribe art thou?’ And Raphael the angel answered: ‘Dost
thou seek the family of him thou hirest, or the hired servant himself to go
with thy son? But lest I should make thee uneasy, I am Azarias the son of the
great Ananias’.
Commenting on this, and excusing the
angel from lying, the author of the following article explains http://newtheologicalmovement.blogspot.com.au/2012/10/did-st-raphael-lie-when-he-said-i-am.html
St. Raphael did not lie
This
theory of broad mental reservation may then explain how it is that St. Raphael
did not lie when he said, I am Azarias the son of the great Ananias.
There
is no falsehood in this statement, since “Azarias” means “the healer of YHWH”
and “Ananias” means “The goodness of YHWH” or “The grace of YHWH”. Now, the
Angel was then only disguising his true name (which means “God’s healer”) and
testifying that he is sent into the world by God’s goodness. Thus, he gives his
name through a certain riddle – but Tobit was thereby led to believe that the
Angel was only a man.
Furthermore,
Raphael truly states who he appeared to be. That is, the Angel truly declares
who he came as. While it would have been a lie for Raphael to say, “I am not
angel but only a man”, he said no such thing. Rather, he identified himself in
an obscure manner and, thereby, withheld from Tobit a truth which he had no
right to know.
[End of quote]
The name of the leader of the fallen
angels in Enoch 1, Azazel (Heb: עֲזָאזֵל), though somewhat similar phonetically to Azarias, may have the meaning of “scapegoat”.
However: “There is a great deal of confusion regarding the exact meaning of the
word”, according to http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0002_0_01741.html
which adds:
In the retelling of the story
of the sons of God and daughters of men (Gen. 6:1–4) in the First Book of
Enoch, Azazel (or Azael) is one of the leaders of the angels who desired the
daughters of men (6:4), and it was he who taught human beings how to
manufacture weapons and ornaments (8:1–2). The identification of this Azazel
with the biblical Azazel is clear from the continuation of the story, as the
angel Raphael is commanded to "bind the hands and feet of Azazel and cast
him into the darkness. Make an opening to the wilderness which is in Dudael and
cast him there. Put upon him hard sharp rocks" (10:4–5). Dudael is the Bet
Hadudo (or Bet Harudo) which is mentioned in the Mishnah (Yoma 6:8) and the
association is certainly with the cliff from which the goat was cast. The
remnant of a pesher (commentary) on Azazel and the angels found in Cave
4 at Qumran resembles the account in the Book of Enoch. Although the remnant is
deficient, it is possible to learn from it that the pesher is dealing
with Azazel and the angels who lusted after the daughters of men so that they
might bear them strong men, and that Azazel taught human beings how to deal
wickedly. Azael is also identified with Azazel in several late Midrashim (cf.
Yalkut Shimoni, Gen. 44; Jellinek, Beit ha-Midrash, vol. 4, p. 127).
Azazel also appears in the Apocalypse of *Abraham
where he takes the form of a fallen angel.
[End of quote]
In his character this Azazel, as “one
of the leaders of the angels who desired the daughters of men (6:4)”, is more
akin to the demon, Asmodeus, of the Book of Tobit, who has fallen in love with
a daughter of men, with Sarah. It is even possible that the oft-copied Book of
Tobit, likely to have been substantially penned by Tobit (and Tobias) in the
C8th BC (Tobit 12:20):
‘Write down all that has
happened’
had exerted a literary influence upon
Enoch 1, written centuries later.
Metaphysically speaking, I think that
the behaviour of both the angel Raphael in the Book of Tobit and the demon,
Asmodeus, testifies in favour of those (myself included) who believe that
purely spiritual beings, such as angels, being incorporeal, do not eat or
indulge in sexual activity – indeed, cannot. And so Raphael will tell Tobit and
Tobias (12:19): ‘When you thought you saw me eating, I did not really eat
anything; it only seemed so’. Another version includes “drinking”: ‘You were observing me, but I wasn’t eating or drinking anything.
Instead, you were seeing a vision’.
Nor does Asmodeus ever
attempt to have sexual intercourse with Sarah, with whom he has fallen
in love. He can merely observe her like a eunuch. The metaphysical difference
between angels (demons) and human beings is explained in the following piece
from the article, “There were Giants on
the earth... The Nephilim” (http://biblelight.net/nephilim.htm):
The
increasingly popular interpretation of the following passage is that it relates
a story of angels interbreeding with the human race, and that this was a
primary reason for God destroying most of humanity with the great flood.
First of
all, it should be pointed out that angels are not humans, they are quite
different creations of God. Satan and the other angels are spirit beings, and
simply cannot have physical offspring (children). They do not marry (Matt.
22:30, Mark 12:25), they are incapable of procreation, and so are genderless
creatures.
[End of
quote]
This article,
whilst rightly rejecting “the increasingly popular” view that this section of Genesis
is referring to fallen angels cohabiting with humans, will opt for the more
metaphysically proper scenario that this actually involved human cohabitation only:
The
sons of God in Gen 6:2, in context, speaks of those men who were (or claimed to
be) obedient to the will of God, they were the people of God, from the lineage
of Seth (Gen. 5). In opposition to this are the daughters of men (not obedient
to God), from the lineage of Cain (Gen. 4). These woman were quite attractive
and alluring, and had little trouble enticing the sons of God into intimate
relations and marriage. In doing so, the sons of God quickly abandoned God for
these women and their ways.
[End of
quote]
And this is
the interpretation that I, too, have previously favoured.
In light of a
deeper consideration of the Book of Tobit, however, specifically that strange situation
it presents of a fallen ‘son of God’, Asmodeus, being desirous of a ‘daughter
of men’, Sarah, I have thought to modify my view on this. Whilst continuing to
accept the metaphysically ordered view that only humans were involved in the physical
sexual activity that led to the emergence of the gigantic Nephilim, I am now
inclined to add to this scenario the extra element of demonic possession. Thus
I would tentatively suggest an understanding of Genesis 6:2-4 somewhat along
the following lines:
And it
came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and
daughters were born unto them,
That the
sons of God [fallen angels] saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and
they were able to take [possession] of whichever women they chose.
And the Lord said, ‘My spirit shall not always
strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred
and twenty years’.
There
were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of
God took possession of the daughters of men, who bore children dedicated to
them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.
That way, these
spiritual beings do not have to suddenly begin doing such physical things for
which they were not ontologically designed.
Holy Tobit
and his most righteous son, Tobias (= prophet Job), were, like the singularly
holy, Enoch, “a righteous man” (see below) witnesses to many of these
extraordinary events.
Chapter 1:1-8
of Enoch 1
The word
of the blessing of Enoch, how he blessed the elect and the righteous, who were
to exist in the time of trouble; rejecting all the wicked and ungodly. Enoch, a
righteous man, who was with God, answered and spoke, while his eyes were
open, and while he saw a holy vision in the heavens. This the angels
showed me.
From them
I heard all things, and understood what I saw; that which will not take place
in this generation, but in a generation which is to succeed at a distant
period, on account of the elect.
Upon
their account I spoke and conversed with him, who will go forth from his
habitation, the Holy and Mighty One, the God of the world:
Who will
hereafter tread upon Mount Sinai; appear with his hosts; and be manifested in
the strength of his power from heaven.
All shall
be afraid, and the Watchers be terrified.
Great
fear and trembling shall seize them, even to the ends of the earth. The lofty
mountains shall be troubled, and the exalted hills depressed, melting like a
honeycomb in the flame. The earth shall be immerged, and all things which are
in it perish; while judgment shall come upon all, even upon all the righteous:
But to
them shall he give peace: he shall preserve the elect, and towards them
exercise clemency.
Then
shall all belong to God; be happy and blessed; and the splendour of the Godhead
shall illuminate them.
would not
have been out of place, generally speaking, in the mouth of Tobit (13:1-18).
The Demon Chained
The
expulsion of the troublesome Asmodeus, who had driven poor Sarah to the point
of suicide, is narrated briefly in Tobit 8:2-3:
Tobias
remembered Raphael’s words. He took the fish’s liver and heart out of his bag
and laid them upon the warm incense coals. The odor from the fish drove off the demon, and he sped off to
the region of Egypt. Raphael went after the demon, bound him there hand and
foot, and immediately put him in chains.
Likewise, Enoch
1 (chapters 8 and 10) tell of the chaos caused by Azazel and his downfall at
the hands of Raphael http://angels.about.com/od/AngelsReligiousTexts/a/The-Watchers-In-1-Enoch-God-Assigns-Angel-Raphael-To-Heal-The-Earth.htm
The lead demon, Azazel, teaches
human beings how to become more violent and vain, chapter 8 says in verses 1
through 3: "And Azazel taught men to make swords, and knives, and shields,
and breastplates,
and made known to them the metals of the earth and the art of working them, and
bracelets, and ornaments, and the use of antimony, and the beautifying of the
eyelids, and all kinds of costly stones, and all coloring tinctures. And there
arose much godlessness, and they committed fornication, and they were led
astray, and became corrupt in all their ways."
….
After the holy archangels
Michael, Uriel Raphael, and Gabriel ask God what he wants to do to solve the
problem, God tells them his plans and assign each one of them to do something
to help. God directs Raphael to punish Azazel for leading the effort to corrupt
human beings, and also to heal the Earth from the damage that has occurred as a
result.
1 Enoch chapter 10 records God
instructing Raphael to “bind Azazel hand and foot, and cast him into the
darkness” and “let him abide there forever, and cover his face that he may not
see light.”
God then says that “on the day of the great judgement” Azazel “shall be cast
into the fire.”
The chapter continues with God
assigning Raphael to “heal the earth which the angels have corrupted, and
proclaim the healing of the earth … that all the children of men may not perish
through all the secret things that the Watchers have disclosed and have taught
their sons”.
[End
of quote]
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