Astrology

What does God say about those who consult with astrologers and use astrology for guidance in their lives? It's in the Bible, Isaiah 47:13-15 NIV. "All the counsel you have received has only worn you out. Let your astrologers come forward, those stargazers who make predictions month by month, let them save you from what is coming upon you. Surely they are like stubble; the fire will burn them up. They cannot even save themselves from the flame…Each of them goes on in his error; there is not one that can save you."

Astrology is a divination art, which teaches that the relative positioning in the sky of the sun, moon and planets has an influence upon individuals and upon the course of human affairs. The actual word for astrology in the Hebrew language literally means, ‘divining the heavens'. Divination is the act of foretelling future events, or of revealing secret knowledge, by means of signs and omens or other supernatural agency. God prohibits the practice of divination. It's in the Bible, Leviticus 19:26 NIV. "Do not practice divination or sorcery."

When the Israelites were about to enter the Promised Land of Canaan, God warned them not to practice it. It's in the Bible, Deuteronomy 18:9, 12, 14, NIV. "Do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there…The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination. But as for you, the Lord your God has not permitted you to do so…Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord."

Divination is actually regarded to be a grave sin. It's in the Bible, 1 Samuel 15:23, NIV. "Rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry."

When King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream, he summoned the magicians, sorcerers and astrologers to tell him what he had dreamed. How did they respond? It's in the Bible, Daniel 2:10 NIV. "The astrologers answered the king, ‘There is not a man on earth who can do what the king asks! No king, however great and mighty, has ever asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or astrologer.'"

The astrologers of Babylon were unable to help the king with this troublesome dream. However, God had blessed his prayerful prophet Daniel with the true gifts of the Holy Spirit, and he was brought before the king to interpret the dream. It's in the Bible, Daniel 2:27-28 NKJ. "Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, ‘The secret which the king has demanded, the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, and the soothsayers cannot declare to the king. But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head upon your bed, were these…'" With God’s anointing, Daniel was able to describe and explain the king's prophetic dream.

(For further information on Astrology, see our Common Questions.)