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"Thou art 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" (Isa. 47:13).
Those words from God were directed at the Babylonians (ancient Iraqis) more than 2,700 years ago. Yet astrology is not a dead art. More than forty million people claim to believe in it in the United States of America. Millions buy a newspaper each day or consult the Internet to read their horoscopes. Millions call a "psychic hot line" and many of these folks would swear that they are Christians. Astrology claims to answer some of the most basic of human questions:
Astrology claims to foretell the future by studying the supposed influence of the relative positions of the sun, moon, planets and stars on humanaffairs. It first appeared among the ancient Babylonians in Mesopotamia and was closely associated with sorcery, witchcraft and idolatry. Theancient Greeks refined it and applied their discovery of mathematics to it. Astrology has had a great influence upon people throughout history. The Roman Emperor during the time Jesus lived, Tiberius, was an admirer.When Adolph Hitler came to power in Germany he outlawed astrology and sent all the astrologers to concentration camps, except his own personalastrologer. It has been reported that Nancy Reagan arranged her husband’s schedule in the latter years of his Presidency after consulting an astrologer. In 2001 Mangal Raj Joshi, the royal astrologer for the royal family of the Kingdom of Nepal failed to predict the assassination of King Birenda and nine members of the royal family by Birenda’s son at a family gathering. Mr. Joshi’s family had provided astrological charts for the royal family for over 20 generations. His excuses failed to alleviate the grief of the people of Nepal at the loss of their royal family. Though it claims to be a science (akin to astronomy), true science has always declared astrology to be nonsense. Actually it is a religion of superstition that makes gods out of the sun and the heavenly bodies. The Law of Moses shows us that God was adamantly opposed to the occult. "And the soul that turneth unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto the wizards, to play the harlot after them, I will set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people" (Deut. 20:6). Wizards, sorcerers, witches and astrologers were not allowed to live. God warned the ancient Jews not to learn or practice astrology. "Thus saith Jehovah, Learn not the way of the nations, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the nations are dismayed at them" (Jer. 10:2). They were exiled from the Promised Land because they took up this unlawful practice (2 Ki. 17:16-17). Man is basically a religious creature and desires to worship something. Astrology worships the stars (Rom. 1:25). Yet God made the sun, moon and stars. He is the one who ultimately influences our lives (Psa. 62:11). To rely on charts, graphs and horoscopes is to rely on something else than the one true God. "That God that made the world and all things in it, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands" (Acts 17:24). The "temples" the apostle Paul refers to in this verse includes the stars, planets, the moon, etc. God is the one who preserves the universe, to His glory (Neh. 9:6; Heb. 1:3). "Idolatry" simply means to worship something or someone other than God. The devotee of astrology is more concerned about the movement of stars and planets than God. The Scriptures teach otherwise. For example when the apostles Paul and Barnabas preached and healed at the city of Lystra they were mistaken for Jupiter and Mercury, two planets worshipped by the people as deities (Acts 14). But they were quickly corrected by the Holy Spirit and the apostles (Acts 14:14-15). God places a curse upon all those who rely on horoscopes and astrology rather than Him (Rom. 1:18-22). They reject the revelation of God, even that revealed in nature. They become vain and hardened of heart. And even with the latest computerized horoscopes and telescopes they show themselves to be fools while maintaining are "air of enlightenment". What is sin? The Bible tells us a sinner is one that practices "lawlessness" (ASV, I John 3:4) or breaks God’s law. Sin is possessing a "mind of the flesh" (Rom. 8:7) which is at war with God and cannot subject itself to Him. Paul understood the mindset of the occult when he denounced the sorcerer Elymas in Cyprus as "thou son of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness" (Acts 13:10). At ancient Phillipi Paul and Silas were confronted by a slave girl "having a spirit of divination" (Acts 16:16) and was a soothsayer. Paul finally cast the evil spirit out of her. Most people involved in astrology do not understand that it is a sin and repulsive to God. But we know this is true through the teaching of the Bible. It denounces those who practice the "works of the flesh" (including idolatry and sorcery) as not worthy of inheriting "the kingdom of God" (Gal. 5:20-21). Astrology preys upon the ignorant and the superstitious. Because they have rejected the truth of God, He will send them a strong delusion or "a working of error, that they should believe a lie" (ASV, 2 Thess. 2:11). It preys on the desperate: those out of money, out of work, with marital problems, etc. It promises them something only God can give (Phil. 4:6-7). Astrology preys upon the carnal side of men: the desire for power, wealth, and illicit sex. "For he that soweth unto his own flesh shall the flesh reap corruption: but he that soweth unto the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap eternal life" (Gal. 6:8). God frustrates the user of astrology. "I am Jehovah, that maketh all things; that stretched forth the heavens alone; that spreadeth abroad the earth (who is with me?); that frustrateth the signs of the liars, and maketh diviners mad; that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish? (Isa. 44:24-25). When compared to His prophets and their inspiration, astrology always looks pathetic (Dan. 1:20). Christians should avoid any evil not just astrology (1 Thess. 5:22). If they find themselves involved in it, they should repent. After Simon the Samaritan sorcerer became a Christian he succumbed to his old ways and tried to buy the power of God. He was severely rebuked by the apostle Peter and commanded to repent (Acts 8:22-23). And Biblical repentance means more than just being sorry for what one has done. Christians in ancient Ephesus who repented at the preaching of Paul took their occult paraphernalia (astrological charts?) and "burned them in the sight of all" (Acts 19:19). They and others since have realized the error of astrology and embraced the word of God, "the sacred writings which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus" (2 Tim.3:15).
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