A while back I was really feeling poorly. Things just weren’t right in my physical world. Like the old farmers used to say, I was just “off my feed” and didn’t really know why. But, I knew something was wrong and now I think I know what caused it. You see, I’m a “Capricorn” and I’ve just discovered that all the astrological prognostications about we Capricorns have been wrong for hundreds of years.
I’m just kidding. About my physical problems, they’re real, but not attributable to anything to do with astrology. The cause of my “poor feeling” is kidney stones and not any kind of Zodiac fortune telling. The reason I started today’s lesson off in a tongue-in-cheek manner was to use a news article as a basis for a lesson regarding a sin that is common to many people in society today. I’m speaking of the sin of believing in astrology. Or, the belief that the alignment of the heavenly bodies have any bearing on either our behavior or any future condition in our lives.
I’ve read that the reason we still have newspapers is mainly because of three things: the crossword puzzle, the obituaries and the daily horoscope. I work the crosswords every day, and I read the obituaries (if I’m not in them I order breakfast) but, I do not read the horoscope. And, for a simple reason - it’s a bunch of hogwash (and my apologies to the hog).
The article which I earlier referred to was seen in Time Magazine a while back and according to a news commentator’s view, it “rocked the world of astrology.” What the article reported on was that, since the second century when the astrological signs were codified (Aquarius, Sagittarius, Capricorn etc) things have changed. IE: that, due to some things about the earth’s orbit around the Sun, the stars do not match up with the “Zodiac” months.
Not being a follower of astrology, I was unaware of this “world rocking” news. I guess the “astrologers” are blaming the “astronomers” and that whole belief system is in chaos. Because, if you’re a believer in and a follower of, the daily advice given by the alignment of the stars, guess what? You’ve been following the wrong advice all this time. For example: you may have traveled when you shouldn’t have. Or bought stocks instead of selling them. You could have made any number of life-changing mistakes following another “sign’s” advice.
OK, I’ve poked enough fun at the astrological followers of the world, but the belief in the “dark arts” (or as the writer of Acts puts it, “the curious arts” 19:19) is not a laughing matter - it’s a sin. The Bible talks about it in many places and uses various terms that are part and parcel of this false belief. Terms such as: “astrologers, enchanters, witches and witchcraft, magicians and seers.”
We can lump all of them under the term of “divination” which has many forms. If you look it up you’ll find some of them to be “astrology, palmistry & star-gazing.” And, if you take the time to research all that God has to say about all of the forms of “divination” found in the Bible, you’ll see that all of them are condemned. Not a one of them is approved in any way by Jehovah.
Here are a few examples of why I just said that. First off, another variation of “divination” is “sorcery” and the Apostle Paul very aptly calls it a “child of the devil” and the “enemy of all righteousness.” (Acts 13:19)
Something more appropriate to “astrology” is some words of God, spoken through the Prophet Isaiah in Isa. 47:9-13. Allow me to paraphrase what is said there, but please read it for yourself and verify that I correctly do so. He’s predicting that God’s wrath is about to come upon them because of their evil ways, some of which was their practice of and trust in their “enchantments and sorceries.”
He, in a sense, challenges them by telling them to keep on trusting in all their “counselors” and see if they do you any good in saving them from being punished. Notice what he says in verse 13: “Thou are wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee.” A more modern language translation says “let them save you, those who divide the heavens, who gaze at the stars, who at the new moons make known what shall come upon you.”
The prophet Jeremiah told them the same thing that Isaiah did regarding their imminent captivity in Babylon. And here again, I’ll paraphrase his message: he tells them, don’t listen to your “diviners, enchanters and sorcerers” when they say that you’re safe. That you “won’t serve the king of Babylon.” They are lying to you with their words. It will happen. You know what? It did!
Here are a couple more examples from Scripture and then we’ll conclude. God’s people have always been warned to not assimilate with those who “use divinations” and “observe times” or are “enchanters.” God says they are “abominations” to Him. (Dt. 18:9-12)
Lest you think that it was only an “abomination” in the Old Testament, look at how it’s put in the New. In Gal. 5:19-21 Paul identifies to us the “works of the flesh.” Included in the list are “idolatry and witchcraft” with the concluding admonition there, that none of those practicing these “works” shall “inherit the kingdom of God.”
How should we, as Christians, look at the idea of astrology and all of its variants? As the Scriptures plainly put it - as an abomination that is the same as idolatry. And we can look at it the same way faithful Job did:
“If I have regarded the sun in its radiance or the moon moving in splendor, so that my heart was secretly enticed and my hand offered them a kiss of homage, then these also would be sins to be judged, for I would have been unfaithful to God on high.” (Job 31:26-28 NIV)
Respectfully submitted,
Ron Covey
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