Raguel (angel)
Raguel Raguil, Rasuil, Rufael, Raquel, Reuel, Akrasiel is an angel mainly of the Judaic traditions. His name's meaning is considered to be "Friend of God".
Raguel is referred to as the archangel of justice, fairness, harmony, and vengeance. In the Book of Enoch, cap. XXIII, Raguel is one of the seven angels who watch, and his function is to take vengeance on the world of the luminaries who have transgressed God's laws.[1] Raguel is also mentioned in the first writings ever found of Enoch who was the first man who ever started writing and the sentence is "Word of blessing of Henok, wherewith he blessed the chosen and righteous who would be alive in the day of tribulation for the removal of all wrongdoers and backsliders." Raguel brings a course of fire which persecutes all the fallen luminaries. Raguel also shows Enoch The Seven Mountains and in the midst of it- the high mountain which is the throne of God where the Lord of Glory will sit along with the tree of wisdom. Raguel brings all the other angels to account for their improper deeds. Before the Son of Man arrives he will inhabit a man to take vengeance on the luminaries. (Zohar)
Raguel is not mentioned in the canonical writings of the Bible. In 2 Enoch, when the patriarch Enoch visited heaven as a mortal, it was Raguel who carried him to and from the mortal world, along with the angel Sariel or Samuil.
In the Council of Rome of 745, pope St. Zachary condemned the worship of non-Biblical angels, among them Raguel.[2]
Possible historical references to a similar figure from other cultures can be found in Babylonian culture as "Rag" (some translations say Ragumu), and in Sumerian as "Rig" which means to talk or speech. Thus, these similar characters represented balance in those cultures as well.
In Popular Culture
In 1990, Raguel has a cameo in The Books of Magic by Neil Gaiman. During his travels through the occult side of the DC Universe, magician-in-training Timothy Hunter meets the Spectre. It is later implied that the Spectre is actually Raguel, an archangel who metes out punishments for God as the Spirit of Vengeance.
Raguel also features prominently in the Neil Gaiman short story "Murder Mysteries" which appears in his collection Smoke and Mirrors. In the audio drama adaptation, Two Plays for Voices, Raguel is voiced by Brian Dennehy.
Raguel appears in Issue 7 of Crimson as one of the seven archangels who come to earth to decide the fate of young vampire Alex Elder.
Raguel also appears in the anime Fairy Tail where a character named Angel can use Angel Magic summoning forth Raguel. It is a white angel that possesses a giant pair of wings, four long arms and seven heads, each holding a horn. Raguel blows its horns to damage its opponents with a powerful soundwave.
Raguel is also one of the collectible cards in a trading card game notorious for its use of Divine entities called Legend of Minerva.
Sariel appeared in the 2011 video game El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron as one of the Fallen Angels pursued by Enoch. He is depicted as being quite tall and lanky, and wears a pink bodysuit under his armor. When faced as a full-fledged boss, he transforms into a bat creature before being defeated by Enoch and imprisoned.
In Resurrection Man issue #1 (September 2011) Suriel is sent to 'collect' the soul of the protagonist. In doing so he crashes a plane bound for Portland killing all on board. Mitch wakes up in the wreckage after being killed when sucked through the planes engines to find that he now has the power to turn into water. Suriel is shown talking on a cell phone to someone 'upstairs' noting that Mitch, the Resurrection man, has already gotten up and left.
Sariel is one of the final bosses in the game Highly Responsive to Prayers, the first game in the Touhou Project series of games.