What happened to not being able to hurt the prophet?
In Supernatural, around when the protagonists meet Chuck, they believe he is a prophet of the Lord, and this conversation can be heard:
Castiel: You must understand why I can't intercede. Prophets are very special, they're protected.
Dean Winchester: I get that.
Castiel: If anything threatens a prophet, anything at all, an archangel will appear to destroy that threat. Archangels are fierce, they're absolute, they're heaven's most terrifying weapon.
Dean Winchester: And these archangels, they're tied to prophets?
Castiel: Yes.
Dean Winchester: So if a prophet was in the same room as a demon...?
Castiel: Then the most fearsome wrath of heaven would rain down on that demon.
But in season 8 episode 7, Crowley can be seen torturing Kevin, a true prophet of the lord. What happened to the most fearsome wrath of heaven raining down on Crowley?
Best Answer
This is mostly supposition, but it probably had something to do with the War in Heaven that was kicked off after Sam and Dean foiled the Apocalypse, circa Season 5. The Angels were too busy with their own sh&t to keep track of what was happening with the prophets. The Angels' faith in God was also at an all-time low, since He didn't seem to be responding to their appeals for His guidance, which probably impacted the priority they put on protecting His prophets.
Also worth noting, according to the Supernatural wiki there are only four Archangels: Michael, Lucifer, Raphael and Gabriel. (Note: this is an explicit difference from real Biblical lore, where there are about 18 or so, including Metatron. In Supernatural, Metatron is explicitly NOT an Archangel.)
As of Season 8, Michael and Lucifer are both trapped in The Cage following the attempted Apocalypse in Season 5. Raphael and Gabriel are both dead. So, assuming what Castiel said is literally correct and only an Archangel would respond to such threats against the prophets, then there are none available to help Kevin during his time on the show.
Pictures about "What happened to not being able to hurt the prophet?"
When The Prophet (S) Was Attacked - Powerful True Story
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Pixabay, Kat Smith, Nathan Cowley, Inzmam Khan