Transcription
Are horoscopes demonic? Why is it sinful for me to read horoscopes and believe them?
Now a 2022 poll by YouGov found that 27% of Americans and 37% of adults under 30 believe in astrology, and 31% of Catholics and 22% of Protestants believe in astrology. Now this statistic has gone up because the previous one which was in 2009 Pew Research stated that 25% of American public and 23% of American Christians believe in astrology.
Now it's not the same thing as astronomy. Astronomy is the science of studying stars and space. Astrology is a religion. It's a non-scientific practice of seeking to predict events by studying heavenly bodies. So we see there's a rise in our culture of people being into this kind of stuff. I mean when I used to get newspapers in my house, every single day there's a page where you can find out how you need to behave, what you're going to experience. And actually one of the reasons I stopped subscribing to the paper, newspapers was because I was like, man I don't want to be getting horoscopes in my house.
Now for a Christian or a pastor like I am, why are we against horoscopes? And I'm going to present a few things in this video. Before we deal with horoscopes let's just address the topic of zodiac. The zodiac comes from the Greek word "zodiakos," which simply means "circle of animals." It is derived from "zoon," meaning animal. This name reflects many of the constellations that lie along the path of the zodiac in the sign which are represented by different animals, like Leo the lion, Aries the ram and Taurus the bull and etc.
Historically the zodiac is an imaginary belt in the sky through the sun, the moon and the planets that appear to move over the course of the year. The belt is divided into 12 signs, each associated with a constellation, and these divisions are used in astrology to attempt to predict or reflect personality traits and life events. The concept of the zodiac have been part of many cultures for thousands of years including the Babylonians, Greeks, Romans and others, evolving over time to the astrological system commonly recognized today.
The zodiac is part of astrology which is not considered real science. It involves 12 signs that people use to predict things about their personality and life based on the stars and the planets, where they are in the sky. Scientists don't think astrology is valid because it doesn't follow the rules of science and can't be proven by tests. So in other words, astronomy is the study of stars. Astrology is different superstitions and trying to figure out your personality traits based on following the stars.
Now here's what the Bible teaches about astrology. When it comes to astrology, this practice of trying to figure out your life according to the stars is in Isaiah 47:13 and 14. The passage there criticizes Babylon and its astrologers, suggesting that reliance on the stars and astrology will not save them from God's judgment. In Deuteronomy 18:10 through 12, that section of Old Testament explicitly list divination among the practices that are detestable to God. In Daniel 2:27-28, Daniel dismisses astrologist when they fail to interpret King Nebuchadnezzar's dream, suggesting that wisdom and revelation came from God, not from the stars. 2 Chronicles 33:1-6, Manasseh was involved with worship of all the host of heaven and served them. Notice that the worship of the stars is again associated with every form of evil, detestable, vile, and perverted behavior.
Now so the Bible is very clear that astrology, looking to the stars for your answers is not biblical. But the Bible also talks about the nature and the stars, as for example in Psalms 19, if you read from verse 1 till verse 6, we see that the stars, they tell us about God's eternal power and the deity of our true living God. They actually proclaim God's work and God's glory. In Romans 1:18- 23, we see that the real purpose of the stars is "since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead."
So there's nothing wrong to study stars, to study space, and cosmos and all of this stuff because it points to our Creator. But when that becomes a place where you're searching for answers about your personality, and about the influence that these stars have on your earthly affairs, and allow them to predict and affect your destiny and the destiny of your family and our nation, that now is not science, nor is it admiring God's creation, nor is it just superstition. It's demonic.
Now why do people use astrology? It's few reasons. One of them is curiosity. Most people want to know the future, what's going to happen in my life. That in itself is not wrong. God made us to be curious. We genuinely want to know the future. We want to plan ahead, we want to avoid problems, we want to take advantage of opportunity. But the big question is who is telling you your future? Is it God? Is it Satan? And who are you going to trust with your future? So that's the first reason is curiosity.
The second one is fun. It sounds exciting and fun to discover the source of secret, this knowledge, and if God is your source then it's good. but if Satan is your source, then he's baiting you like a mouse into a mouse trap with his occult called fun. The third reason why people are drawn into horoscopes is fascination with the occult. People are drawn into spirituality that doesn't teach about sin and judgment to come. A spirituality that doesn't have a cross, doesn't require you to repent. A spirituality that doesn't have death, burial and resurrection. It's all about you, you're the center of the universe. And because people are made in God's image, people have a spirit as well as a physical body, we naturally hunger for spiritual things. This hunger for spiritual things is not wrong. However when people reject the spirituality of God, the scriptural one. They begin to fill their life with spiritual things that are apart from God, and those things, they appear as good but it's really a mask. You know I've said this about New Age but this can be said about any kind of occultic power is you have to understand the devil takes the face of an angel when he appears to you. And a lot of times from a distance, if you're spiritually just hungry, you're spiritually seeking God, and you're seeking you know this higher power and everything. At first it's like, man you know it's nothing wrong. They're talking about angels, they're talking about love, they're talking about direction and guidance, and you know I don't see anything wrong with it. Plus these people that are predicting these things to me through the stars, they're using God's creation. But you must understand is that the devil will a lot of times present a counterfeit. Any spirituality that doesn't focus on sin, repentance and doesn't focus on death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, that spirituality is counterfeit. The devil is spiritual, and he's going to impose that spirituality on you. You know I have a dog. His name is Jocko. A lot of times you know Jocko would drink water from a bowl, but he doesn't mind sometimes drinking water from a toilet because water is water for him. And so nobody in the right mind like a human being would drink water from a toilet, why? Because you know it's, it's, well it's not pretty. You have to understand is that a lot of times this direction from a distance can look like water, but in reality it's not water. And alcohol can look the same from a distance, but they taste different. So any spirituality that goes outside of the Holy Spirit and outside of the holy Scriptures is counterfeit. And it's pretty much the devil masquerading his power behind that and baiting you in so that you can experience some power. I mean he offered that to Jesus. He says, You can turn these stones into bread. And Jesus says, no, no, no. I'm not going to play your tricks. And one day Jesus did turn you know a few loaves and fish and fed multitudes of people, and Jesus did rise from the dead. He walked in power. God wants you to have access to power, but walk in His holy power, that honors Him, the Scriptures and also leads you closer to Him.
The fourth reason people are drawn to horoscopes is avoidance of personal responsibility. Dr Bob Larson makes a point in his book on Larson's Book of Cults. He said this, and I quote "The underlying philosophy of astrology declares that once destiny can be found in the stars. In contrast, Christianity teaches that the events of life are determined by the combination of God's sovereign will and man's moral personal choices. Astrology, on the other hand, attempts to destroy men's accountability to God. Horoscope devotees may think that they can fall back on blaming stars on their actions, but the Bible teaches us that someday all mankind will stand before God to be judged." And Dr Larson is spot on. Every human being must take responsibility for his and her own actions, and we will give an account of them before God. Matthew 12:36 says, "But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give an account of it on the day of judgment." You're not going to blame the stars, the stars aren't responsible for your decisions, and you're not accountable to them. You must take personal responsibility.
The fifth reason is power and control. People want power and control in their life, and if it's possible the lives of other people they want to control. Now again, to have some self-control, it's not bad. Actually the Bible says the fruit of the Spirit is self-control. We should take responsibility for our own lives and manage them well. The desire to manage others in a position of responsibility is also not wrong. In 1 Timothy 3:1, it says, "If a man desires the position of a bishop, he desires a good work." Again we're not encouraged to desire to control people, but we can lead and bless other people, but again the question is who's giving you this power? Who is the source of this power? Is it God or is it Satan? If it's God, He will make you a blessing and help other people. If it's Satan, he's not going to come out to you and give you power as Satan. He's going to come out and masquerade himself through all kinds of occultic means, and horoscopes is one of them.
Why are horoscopes wrong and demonic? Well the first reason is it diverts your trust from God. Reliance on astrology for guidance is seen as placing trust in creation rather than the Creator, which conflicts with the first commandment to have no other gods before biblical God. You're breaking the first commandment. God says you know trust in Me. I'm the Creator. But when you're trusting in the stars that He made for your enjoyment, for them to show His goodness, and you have direct access to God. What we're doing is we're breaking the first commandment. We are diverting our trust from God.
The second thing is a loss of personal responsibility, as I've highlighted. Horoscopes lead individuals to believe that the faith is sealed in the stars, which can undermine the Biblical teaching of free will and personal accountability. That faith is not sealed in the stars. There's a sovereign God, and He directs and controls things, and also we have a role to play in how our life turns out.
The third reason why horoscopes are wrong is they are an open door to demons. Engaging with astrology is opening yourself up to potentially misleading and harmful spiritual influence, why? Because this astrology and horoscopes contradicts Christian teaching that God is sovereign, controls the universe. Relying on the stars and planets for guidance is seen in the Scriptures and presented as a contradiction and distraction from believing in God. God warns against divination, sorcery or seeking omens in Deuteronomy 18:10-12, in Isaiah 47:13-14. Astrology fits into these categories because it tries to predict the future and makes decisions based on celestial movements rather than trusting in God. So when you begin to trust in this, what begins to happen, you're not just simply trusting in creation versus God. You're actually practicing divination. You're practicing actually that sorcery. You're looking for that source of spiritual information from another source other than God, and the Bible condemns that. You know why it's an open door to demon? Because it's really associated with idolatry. Any type of idolatry is really demonic. Involvement in astrology is viewed as a form of idolatry, because it attributes power and authority to created objects, like stars and planets, which should be only attributed to Creator God. And this is contrary to the first of the Ten Commandments. When you begin to look to the stars for direction, you're practicing idolatry because you're no longer looking to God for your direction. Things like power, direction, salvation, hope, order of my life, we look to God for that. We don't look to His creation for that. We don't worship these things, look to these things for source of guidance, and that's one of the reasons why that becomes an open door. The devil takes advantage of that.
Why is it an open door to demons? Because of a spiritual deception. From Christian point of view, engaging in astrology is seen as opening yourself up to deception, to spiritual force opposed to God. All the devil has to do is to mess with the horoscopes as he usually does, and he gets you on a hook. The belief in horoscopes is this, that Satan, what we believe is that Satan and demonic forces can use this form of wisdom and guidance offered by astrology to mislead and manipulate individuals, drawing them away from the truth of the gospel and making wise decisions in their life inspired by the Holy Bible.
Why is there an open door to demons? Because it will distract you from Christian faith. Relying on the horoscopes will distract you from your faith and prayer life, will distract you from reading the Scriptures, speaking in tongues, seeking wisdom from others because now you're seeking wisdom from this newspaper or from this email that you get on the horoscopes. And now you don't need the Scripture, you don't need to commune with the Holy Spirit, and it will lead to a spiritual decline, prioritizing celestial signs over biblical guidance and that is demonic. That is a trap. That is the enemy. This is not just you know laziness. We're talking about spiritual things that are now taking the place of the most important Person in your life, and that is the Lord.
And lastly why I believe it's a demonic, why I believe that it opens the door to demons. Not only because we've seen demons being cast out who come through these things, but also because horoscopes are actually predictions about the future. And many times they're wrong. Horoscopes is really the devil's substitute for the gift of prophecy. And so we should seek spiritual gifts. We should allow spiritual gifts in our life. And a lot of times what begins to happen is we reject the spiritual gifts and instead what we accept is demonic gifts, is the gifts that Satan offers. I think this is a warning for us as Christians to allow the gifts of the Holy Spirit freely to flow in our midst because horoscopes is the culture's way of practicing prophecy, and those predictions, many times they are off and they are wrong. And even if they come in and your life gets aligned with the stars, you really fall into the trap of the enemy. You really are, you're being baited by Satan and now he is going to reorder your life according to the stars. The Bible says the steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, and He delights in his path." Be a good person, be a godly person, be a forgiven person who allows the Holy Spirit to guide you, the holy Scriptures to guide you, the wisdom of others to guide you, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit to bring clarity in area where maybe you don't have that clarity.
So are horoscopes demonic? Yes they are because they divert your trust from God. They really promote loss of personal responsibility. They open doors to demons because they contradict Biblical teaching. They associate actually with idolatry. They do lead to spiritual deception. They will distract you from godly disciplines, and it's pretty much the devil's substitute for the gift of prophecy. So if you have been reading horoscopes, I want you to repent of that, I want you to get rid of that, unsubscribe from that. Remove those things from your life. Get back into the Bible, get back into prayer, get back into the Holy Spirit. Allow the Lord to guide your life. You don't need to look to the stars to get your direction. You can look to the one who made those stars, and He will direct you.
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