Church of God, In Truth
Astrology - Pagan or Science?
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Astrology - Pagan or Science?
ASTROLOGY
PAGAN OR SCIENCE?
When talking to people about the calendar and the postponements, we have encountered some who distribute booklets and articles that say we are to look to astrology and the zodiac for calendar information. It is strange that people want to go into great detail with long and difficult studies about the magical world of the stars and mythology.
Yet God's Word is so simple. He gave the sun and the moon to determine time. "And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also"(Gen 1:14-16). Mankind does not want to follow the simple. They want to make God's Word of no effect by not obeying scripture!
What is astrology according to scripture?
The Interlinear Bible Hebrew-English, by Hendrickson, page 1701, Isaiah 47:13 states "You are exhausted by your many plans, let those dividing the heavens stand up now and save you, the gazers into the stars, making known what is coming on you into the new moon." The Strong's number for "those dividing" is 1895.
The meaning from the New Brown-Driver-Briggs- Gesenius-Hebrew-English Lexicon is: divide, cut into large pieces, cut up - be acquainted with, skilled in; for Isaiah 47:13, divide the heavens, that gaze at the stars; refers to distinguishing of signs of zodiac, or other astrological division of sky;
cf Che; on zodiac in Babylon; and on planets and constellations."
The meaning from Gesenius Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon of the Old Testament is: to cut, to cut up, to divide out. It occurs once in Isaiah 47:13, "those who divide the heavens", for the purpose of auguury, taking a horoscope."
According to Lawrence E. Jerome and Bart J. Bok, in their book Objections to Astrology: "Astrology proper began in Babylonia as a system of omen- reading to foretell the fate of kings and realms". The priest of ancient Babylonia consulted the stars to determine if it was a good time to go to war or to make alliances. About the same time, the Egyptians were developing a system of "places" based on planetary aspects. Later, Greek astrologers combined the Babylonian and Egyptian system and created mathematical "scientific" cosmology or philosophy of the character of the universe. The Roman astronomer and mathematician Ptolemy gave astrology an even more scientific veneer when he established the system of "houses" (a division of the "celestial sphere" into 12 sectors)."
Articles have been mailed to us stating that the tribes of Israel constitute the twelve divisions of the celestial sphere. Does God's Word say that? No!! Gods word speaks to Israel and Judah, to show them that they will disappear as a nation, if the sun and moon should be no more. "Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is His name: If those ordinances depart from before Me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever. Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD" (Jer. 31:37). Also in Jeremiah 33:25-26: "Thus saith the LORD; If My covenant be not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth; Then will I cast away the seed of Jacob and David My servant, so that I will not take any of his seed to be rulers over the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will cause their captivity to return, and have mercy on them."
What does God say about using astrology?
"And the LORD spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice. And the LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it. Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the LORD spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire: Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female, The likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air, The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth: And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seeth the sun, and the moon and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven" (Deu 4:12,14-19). "Therefore shall evil come upon thee; thou shalt not know from whence it riseth: and mischief shall fall upon thee; thou shalt not be able to put it off: and desolation shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know. Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest prevail. 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. Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it" (Isa 47:11-14).
What is Astrology?
We have researched several books, Dictionaries and Encyclopedias to give you a brief outline from them.
Unger Bible Dictionary by M.F. Unger, page 120. "Astrology, the ancient art of divination by consulting the planets and stars, which until Kepler's time was inextricably bound up with astronomy. the practice consists in consulting the heavenly bodies, particularly the signs of the zodiac in relation to observed human events, and making deductions and predictions on this basis. This largely unscientific practice is nevertheless important divinatory practice still in vogue in modern Western civilization-- as in evidence by horoscopes printed regularly in metropolitan newspapers."
New Standard Encyclopedia, Funk and Wagnal Vol II, page 167, 1948 Ed. "Astrology: A pseudo-science to which a man is born under a planet that is believed to decide his temperament and the particular conjunction of the planets to determine his destiny. Thus it has become known as astromancy or divination by the stars."
This is what God says about divination: "There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch. Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee" (Deu 18:10-12).
Divination:
According to Unger's Bible Dictionary, pg.312, "the art of obtaining secret knowledge, especially of the future". Page 802, "In Scripture the diviners were false prophets, and divination was allied to witchcraft and idolatry (Deu. 18:10; Josh 13:32; 1 Sam 15:23; Jer 27:9 ) and energized by demon power (cf 1 Cor 10:20- 21)."
Insight into Scripture, pg. 636 states, "Divination embraces generally the whole scope of gaining secret knowledge, especially about future event, through the aid of spiritualistic occult powers."
Observer of times:
Most Dictionaries say see: Magic. World Book Encyclopedia 1986, Vol I page 790-791: "Astrology is the study of how the sun, moon, planets and stars are supposedly related to life and events on the earth. It is based on the belief that the heavenly bodies form patterns that can reveal a person's character or future. Astrology differs from astronomy. Astrology developed from a set of principles that originated more than 2,000 years ago. The basic principle of astrology is that the heavenly bodies influence what happens on the earth. Astrologers learn about this influence by casting (drawing) a circular chart called a horoscope or birth chart. A horoscope shows the positions of the planets in relation to the earth and the stars at a certain time. The system used by astrologers to cast a horoscope is based on a special view of the universe. This view involves four elements: (1) the earth (2) the planets, (3) the zodiac (4) the houses."
Encyclopedia Americana, 1990 Edition Vol II pg. 557. "Belief in the occult affluence of heavenly bodies on human affairs and the practice or technique of divining events from astronomical observations. Astrology is based on the assumption the positions of the sun in relation to the stars and planets affect the auspiciousness of certain days in general and of fortunes of individuals in particular. In its origins, astrology everywhere was linked with astronomy and religion.
History. "Western astrology can be traced directly to the theories and practices of the Chaldeans and Babylonians of the 2000"s B.C." "The movement of the heavenly bodies were linked to a complex mythology and cosmology, which, in somewhat modified form, became the basis of astrological interpretations in the west.
Underlying Chaldean and later astrological concepts in the image of the zodiac, with it series of mythological animals. A different set of zodiacal animals is used as a basis of Chinese astrology, which is the kind that is best known in Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia."
Colliers Encyclopedia, 1981 Edition Vol III page 103- 105. "Astrology, in the widest sense, the discipline which formulates general concepts of the universe, based on the assumption of a correspondence between the movements of the sun, moon, and planets in the heavens and the movements of life on earth."
"Primitive development. In Sumeria and Babylonia, where records extend back to c 3000 B.C. astrology consisted at first solely of observing and tabulating these solilunar data, and from them predicting the time and circumstances of their recurrence."
Greek and Hellenistic Contributions.
By the 4th century B.C. the Greeks, by thus transferring astrology from the realm of national or meteorological conditions to the affairs of the individual, gave a new vitality to the subject and established that branch of astrology, genethliacal (nativity) or judicial (planetary- influence) astrology."
"Modern Schools: Moralistic: The real beginning of modern astrology dates from 1820 and 1822. Then, toward the end of the nineteenth century, the rise of theosophy, which adopted astrology, supplied the next impetus with the publication of works of Alan Leo in England; and Rosicrucianism, with its flavor of medieval mysticism and ancient Masonry, accomplished the same end in America."
"Physical Astrology: Applies to any astrology based on a theory of a cause and effect relationship between the physical body of a planet and conditions of life on earth."
God warns us not to listen to the Astrologers, Stargazers and monthly prognosticators. "If there be found among you, within any of thy gates which the LORD thy God giveth thee, man or woman, that hath wrought wickedness in the sight of the LORD thy God, in transgressing his covenant, And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, moon, and any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded; And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and enquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel. Then shalt thou bring forth that man or that woman, which have committed that wicked thing, unto thy gates, even that man or that woman, and shalt stone them with stones, till they die" (Deu 17:2-5). "And they left all the commandments of the LORD their God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and made a grove, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served Baal. And they caused their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchantments, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger. Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only. Also Judah kept not the commandments of the LORD their God, but walked in the statutes of Israel which they made. And the LORD rejected all the seed of Israel, and afflicted them, and delivered them into the hand of spoilers, until he had cast them out of his sight" (2Kings 17:16-20).
When the kings of Israel and Judah went away from God and served other gods, they were punished. "And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, after the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD cast out before the children of Israel. For he built up again the high places which Hezekiah his father had destroyed; and he reared up altars for Baal, and made a grove, as did Ahab king of Israel; and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them. And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD. And he made his son pass through the fire, and observed times, and used enchantments, and dealt with familiar spirits and wizards: he wrought much wickedness in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger. And he set a graven image of the grove that he had made in the house, of which the LORD said to David, and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever" (2Kings 21:2-3.5-7).
In the beginning of God's Word He gave the information to use for the calendar. Man has to go one better than God. God created the sun, moon and stars, and man has named and made images of them. God condemns this practice. "But did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, like unto the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel. For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down, and he reared up altars for Baalim, and made groves, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them. Also he built altars in the house of the LORD, whereof the LORD had said, In Jerusalem shall my name be for ever. And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD. And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke Him to anger" (2Chron 33:2-6).
What is the Zodiac?
Colliers Encyclopedia, 1981 Edition, Vol 23 page 780: "Zodiac: an imaginary belt around the sky. It extends 8 degrees on either side of the ecliptic, which is the apparent path of the sun among the stars, and also contains the orbits of the moon and all the principal planets except Pluto. Like the ecliptic, the zodiac is inclined 23 1/2 degrees to the celestial equator. Both the ecliptic and the zodiac cross the celestial equator at the vernal and autumnal equinoxes, which are the first days of spring and fall respectively.
The identity of the first people to name the constellations is obscure, but the Sumerians, who flourished about 3500 B.C., are known to have identified many of them. Since the majority of the constellations visited by the sun in its apparent journey among the stars represent animals, the ancient Greeks called the belt zodiakos, which means of living things. However, at that time the number of zodiacal constellations and boundaries of each were not fixed, although attempts were made toward these ends by the Babylonian, Egyptian, and early Greeks. It was not until about 150 B.C. that the Greek astronomer Hipparchus advocated an arrangement. Hipparchus placed the line of o degree celestial longitude at the vernal equinox and divided the zodiac into twelve 30 degree zones beginning at this point. (Aries is no longer at the first point of o degree) because of the precession (the conical motion of the earths's axis, similar to that of a spinning top) causes the equinoxes to move westward along the ecliptic at the rate of 1 degree in 72 years. For this reason, the vernal equinox has moved from Aries into Pisces, which is now the first constellation of the zodiac. Aries will be the first constellation once again about A.D. 24,000."
"Zodiacal Signs: Astrology is based on the concept that the movements of the sun, moon and planets among the stars influence the lives of individuals and the fates of nations. To keep tract of these movements, ancient astrologers divided the zodiac into twelve signs and assigned to each the name of the constellations that occupied the greatest portions of the 30 degree zone at that time."
Colliers Encyclopedia, 1981 Edition, Vol III page 103: "Zodiac: The primary division of the celestial sphere is called the zodiac; it is a band extending 8 degrees on each side of the ecliptic (the apparent path of the sun around the earth), which is divided into 12 equal divisions or signs, or 30 degrees. The Babylonians devised the zodiac about 500 B.C. and assigned to each sign the name of the constellation which occupied the greater part of the 30 degree area at that time. The starting point of the zodiac at 0 degree is Aries, followed by Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpius, Sagittarius, Capricorus, Aquarius, and Pisces, at 30 degree intervals. Because of precession of the equinoxes, 9 degree Aries no longer coincides with the constellation Aries; but astrology maintains that the starting point of the zodiac, which originally based on solar movement, should continue to coincide with the vernal equinox (the intersection of the ecliptic and the celestial equator through which the sun moves during its northward journey."
Encyclopedia Americana, 1990 Edition, Vol 29 page 787: "The names of the zodiacal constellations are very ancient, dating from the early Babylonian period and possibly from the Sumerians, except Libra, which was originally a part of Scorpius call Chelae (the claw). The zodiac itself, on the contrary, is a mathematical concept which does not appear to have been in use prior to 400 B.C. About 100 B.C. it became the established practice to place the beginning of Aires at the vernal equinox."
In the New Testament God said, that man will worship the created more than the Creator. "Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen" (Rom 1:21-23,25). "Then God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets, O ye house of Israel, have ye offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness? Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them: and I will carry you away beyond Babylon" (Acts 7:42-43).
GOD SAYS "DO NOT FOLLOW ASTROLOGY OR THE ZODIAC SIGNS"
"When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch. Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee. Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God. For these nations, which thou shalt possess, hearkened unto observers of times, and unto diviners: but as for thee, the LORD thy God hath not suffered thee so to do" (Deu 18:9-14).
What does God say we are to look for when we determine our feast day?
God told Moses, that he should follow His commands and not follow the people of the land, lest they take him away from the true God. "And the LORD descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Observe thou that which I command thee this day: behold, I drive out before thee the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and the Hittite, and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite. Take heed to thyself, lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land whither thou goest, lest it be for a snare in the midst of thee: But ye shall destroy their altars, break their images, and cut down their groves: For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God: Lest thou make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land, and they go a whoring after their gods, and do sacrifice unto their gods, and one call thee, and thou eat of his sacrifice; Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest: in earing time and in harvest thou shalt rest. And thou shalt observe the feast of weeks, of the firstfruits of wheat harvest, and the feast of ingathering at the year's end" (Exo 34: 5-6,11-15, 21-22). The Interlinear Bible states, "And a feast of weeks you shall observe for yourself, the first fruits of the harvest of wheat and feast of ingathering (at) the turn of the year" (Exo 34:22).
When God says that we are to keep the feast at the turn of the year, we know there are only two turns of the sun. This happens at the spring and fall equinoxes. This is when the sun turns from the southern hemisphere to the north and then turns again from the northern hemisphere to the south. The new moon closest to the spring equinox keeps both the Passover and the Feast of Tabernacles in the proper turn of the season. Nowhere, in God's Word, does it say we are to follow the "point of Aries" in the stars for the appointed time of God's Holy Days.
We are to come out of Babylon, and not follow the zodiac signs or astrology!!
Revelation 18:4 "And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues."
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