“A Sign Of The Times”

Sunday, September 01, 2013

We are studying the book of Genesis in my small group Bible study.  The teacher explained that before the prophecy in Isaiah and other passages in the Old Testament about the Virgin Mary giving birth to the Messiah, Jesus, that the Virgin and the Messiah were predicted by Zodiac signs, including the Virgo sign.  My small group teacher said even though he did not believe in astrology, this was how the Messiah's birth was predicted in the early Bible times.  But the Baal worshippers twisted the Zodiac concept around from what true followers of God had prophesied.  As you can tell, it sounds very confusing, and he gave absolutely no Bible scriptures to back his theory.  He is a very nice and sincere man, and I believe he loves God.  But I read in numerous places in the Bible that anything to do with fortune telling (which Zodiac signs are) is strictly of Satan.  The Bible says that Satan is the author of confusion, and this teacher was very confusing.  I believe he thought he was being led by God's spirit.  As you can tell, this is a difficult question, but prayerfully you can give me some Bible scriptures to back this teacher’s theory or disclaim this teacher’s theory.

Sincerely,
Starry-Eyed Student

Dear Starry-Eyed Student,

Astrology is wrong, and so is this teacher.  Astrology, mysticism, séances, horoscopes, palm reading, etc. are all sinful.  God condemned that behavior in the Old Testament (Isa 47:13-14).  King Saul was put to death by God for seeking a woman that practiced divining (1 Chr 10:13). Any Jew that was found visiting a ‘medium’ or ‘spiritist’ would be cut off from His people (Lev 20:6).  In the New Testament, astrology is just as roundly condemned.  Paul cast out an evil spirit that was fortune-telling (Acts 16:16-18).  When someone became a christian, they confessed sorcery as evil, and many of them burned their books of the magical arts (Acts 19:18-20).  If we want wisdom, we should seek it from God (Jas 1:5).  All astrology, horoscopes, and the like are wrong.

Since God clearly condemns astrology, it wouldn’t make any sense that He would use astrology to predict the coming of Jesus.  As you said, there aren’t any verses to back up what this teacher was saying… there is a reason for that.  Regardless of what this man’s general character is, he has made a mistake.  The Bible simply doesn’t back up his theory.

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