In verse 14 of Genesis chapter 1, we move from vegetation in the third day to outer space. It says, “And God said, ‘Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years.’” In creating the stars and planets in space along with the sun and moon, God had a specific purpose in mind for us living on earth. Exell sees that as, “The moon by her four quarters, which last each a little more than seven days, measures for us the weeks and months. The sun, by his apparent path in the sky, measures our seasons and our years, whilst by his daily rotation through the heavens he measures the days and the hours; and this he does so correctly that the best watch-makers in Geneva regulate all their watches by his place at noon; and from the most ancient times men have measured from sun dials the regular movement of the shadow”[1]
A website with current statistics said, “Around 63.4% of Americans follow astrology and nearly 1 in 5 — 19.2% — have made a money decision based on their horoscope according to LendingTree’s survey.” Another website says that the horoscope is a 2.2-billion-dollar industry annually. If you search for “astrology” you might raise the Wikipedia article which begins with a paragraph that discredits it. It reads, “Beyond the scientific tests astrology has failed, proposals for astrology face a number of other obstacles due to the many theoretical flaws in astrology including lack of consistency, lack of ability to predict missing planets, lack of connection of the zodiac to the constellations in western astrology, and lack of any plausible mechanism. The underpinnings of astrology tend to disagree with numerous basic facts from scientific disciplines.” Leupold asks “Is there perhaps a silent contrast involved with the superstition of the heathen that is wont to attach itself to the stars? The statement, therefore, is unusually exhaustive in order to show what purposes the Almighty fixed for the heavenly bodies and to leave no room for heathen misconstruction.”[2]
God gave us the “lights” in the sky to mark off the movement of time. That’s pretty clear from Genesis 1:14. In his long book on the dangers and errors of Astrology, Morey concludes, “The theory and practice of astrology has been examined in terms of its origin, history, popular arguments, scientific credibility, philosophic integrity, and its compatibility with historic and biblical Christianity. The theory of astrology fails to validate its claims to be scientific and philosophically credible. Its internal contradictions and the scientific evidence against it are conclusive to those who approach it with an open mind. Astrology is merely the modern form of ancient planetary worship. Its language and raison d’etre are clearly polytheistic and anthropomorphic. As a religious world view, it is incompatible with Christianity. It has been weighed in the scales of history, science, philosophy, and Christianity and has been found lacking of any validity. Its only appeal to modern man is by way of superstition and magic. There is no place for astrology in the life of a Christian believer.”[3] I’ll make someone mad but I must say that astrology is excrement from a male cow.
[1] Exell, Joseph S. n.d. The Biblical Illustrator: Genesis. Vol. 1. The Biblical Illustrator. London: James Nisbet & Co.
[2] Leupold, H. C. 1942. Exposition of Genesis. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.
[3] Morey, Robert A. 1981. Horoscopes and the Christian. Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House.