Get the entire Tekton site on CD or zipfile. Get a stripped-down copy of this page.

The ancient practice of astrology has come a long way downhill; yet some people just don't want to let go and stretch as far as they can to preserve it. Our focus here is an item online titled, "Biblical References to the Declaration of the Stars." It is an attempt to justify astrology based on the Bible, and as such, is rather a miserable failure, for the obvious reason that is has to stretch the texts like Silly Putty, to say nothing of stretching definitions of words, to make a justification. "The Bible does not tell us to forego considering the stars and the heavens because we now have the Scripture," we are told. Considering? Yet for what purpose? Carl Sagan "considered" the stars, yet he'd whack you with his telescope billions and billions of times if you suggested he was practicing astrology. Natural theologians like Aquinas would do the same. Apparently these folks believe you can't look up at night without endorsing astrology. Best stay in bed.

Now some reference is made to the thesis that the Gospel is told in the stars via the 12 recognized signs. We are not here going to evaluate that thesis, which has been endorsed by some otherwise cautious names and rejected by others. My thoughts on the matter wonder what people in the Southern Hemisphere were supposed to get out of this, and ask how cultures even in the North that do not match the signs were supposed to get the message. As a whole the findings of such symbols is open to creativity, as might be expected when one essentially connects the stellar dots. Thus we are told:

Some of the imagery in Daniel---far more than I had first thought---uses the constellations and the stars to convey prophecy. For example, Daniel 7:9-10 is a depiction of the constellation Auriga, the Shepherd-King, who sits in sovereign rule over the constellation Eridanus, the river of fire and judgement.

Very cute. Unfortunately it's not cut and dried. Eridanus, according to these astronomy folks, is not clearly noted until the time of Ptolemy, well after Daniel's time, and it's date of origin is unknown. As for Auriga, we find here that it is no Shepherd-King, but rather: "Auriga may once have had a chariot, but he is most commonly found holding a Goat and two kids. In his other hand are reins to the missing Chariot. Nothing else is much known about him almost every culture includes him, but none agree as to who he was." The two constellations also appear to be some distance apart in the sky. So there you have it: You can connect the dots. 3000 years from now, Auriga may become Emeril Legasse holding a soup spoon and a side of beef and Eridanus may be the soup he spilled running across the floor.

Let us get at, though, the attempts to create Biblical justification for stellar dot connection and derivation of future events. To begin:

(1) Genesis 1:14 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: The word for "sign" can mean an indicator of a covenant, or it can mean an amazing occurrence, or a remembrance of something (ie, a witness, a testament).

Can it? It is the word used for the mark on Cain (4:15), for the rainbow (9:13), for the miracles done by Moses (Ex. 4:8). So this is correct, but what has this in support of astrology? Very little, without a stretch. The uses of the word we have picked at random have to do with present actions and events and nothing to do with assessing the future. Without assessing all 79 uses of the word in the OT, it is enough to say that this will hardly provide evidence of use of the stars for prediction of the future; perhaps one or more cites could be found where the word indicates such a use, but the most obvious referent is that it is used as a marker for present events -- as a navigator or sailor may use the for measuring time (which is how this passage is usually understood, in light of the reference to seasons, days and years thereafter).

(2) Num 24: 17: I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth. An amazing prophecy that links the validity of the prophet's declaration with the declaration of heaven. The star will indicate the salvation that God sends (and this, of course, was proved true. More on that in the next essay or two.)

Hmm. Unfortunately for our friend this is where our study of preterism comes in handy. The star is not a literal star, but a person; and stellar symbols equate with political entities, as do the stars on Old Glory. Nice try, but still a stretch.

(3) Deu 4:26 I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong [your] days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed. (In this passage, the stars are called upon by Moses, who is citing the heavens and earth as the witness/record keeper of all that God has done, so that the guilt of any apostasy against God is documented. As any witness called upon to testify, the indication is that Moses knows that the heavens can make a detailed, accurate declaration of what God has done. The heavens vindicate God and show the guiltiness of man.)

Hmm again. If this is astrology, then stare into the dirt for your next prediction. Heavens AND earth called as a witness? This is no signification of stars keeping records, but of all living things -- deities, persons -- living in that creation to act as a witness. The phrase encompasses the whole of creation ("thou hast made heaven and earth," 1 Kings 19:15) and does not lend conscious thought or record-keeping abilities to the stars.

Ps. 50:4 is abused in a similar way, then:

(5) Psalm 50:6 And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God [is] judge himself. Selah. The heavens, first and foremost, declare the righteousness of God. This verse is only the second verse after my previous reference. When God calls his two witnesses of heaven and earth, the heavens are the strongest witness of His righteousness. They can provide a perfect record. This means that the heavens convey a meaningful declaration of God, for God's Law requires that a witness be mature, truthful, and coherent.

Astrology? More like natural theology, Romans 1-2 style. Of course even so the heavens are declaring an always-present attribute of God; there is no hint of future prediction using the stars. It is indeed a "meaningful declaration" but hardly one that astrologers would find of any use.

(6) Psalm 89:35-37 Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David. His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me. It shall be established for ever as the moon, and [as] (--and the "as" does not belong. It's been added.) a faithful witness in heaven. Selah. The KJV does a bad job with this verse. The following is from Young's literal translation: "As the moon it is established -- to the age, And the witness in the sky is stedfast." In this passage, God declares that His covenant has a stedfast, unchanging witness in the heaven. God links David's seed to the moon, which waxes and wanes and can be eclipsed but returns again.

Regardless of what the KJV has done, the question is, "a witness to what"? A witness to whether your Aunt Hattie should get married or not? Perhaps indeed to the covenant, but of what use is that? It's a little slippery to says that this "links David's seed" to the moon -- it is compared to the moon as something that will endure (which is in line with political stellar symbolism as above) but there is no cause-effect connection made whatsoever.

(7) Job 16:19 Job, lamenting his innocence, declares, "Also now, behold, my witness [is] in heaven, and my record [is] on high." The word for heaven is the word for the *visible* heavens (perhaps why the KJV translator inserted the word "behold" into the verse, when actually the word "behold" does not appear in the Hebrew or Septuagint---an indication that Job is pointing to the sky or talking about the visible heavens, ie, the heavens that a person can behold from earth.) and it is also the root word used for the word "astrologers," and it can be translated as stars. He is saying, "The witness [of my life] is in the stars/heavens, and the testimony of it [a witness or written account] is in the heights."

Hmm. Is Job pointing to heaven and the stars, or to the main inhabitant in heaven -- i.e., God? The next two verses suggest as much: "My friends scorn me: but mine eye poureth out tears unto God. O that one might plead for a man with God, as a man pleadeth for his neighbour!" Appeal is made hereafter to what rabbinical astrologers say of such things, but that proves little more than that they stretched the same Silly Putty our friend does.

(8) To whom will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath Created these things [the stars on high--BASS],That bringeth out their host by number: He calleth them all by names by the greatness Of his might, for that He is strong in power, Not one faileth. Isa 40:25-26

We are told that this passage "tells believers to look to the heavens for a statement about God Himself." Astrology? No, natural theology. Present truths. Verses that say God numbers and names the stars (as in Ps. 147:4, also abused along with several others of the same type) show that God controls and has power over the stars -- not that God sends us secret messages through them. Our friend seems aware of this, but doesn't seem to get it, for:

Today, Christians talk vaguely about God having a witness in nature, and they seem to be saying that if you go into the woods and hear the birds tweeting, you should be able to figure out there is a God. Christians say that the created world shows by its orderliness that there must be a Creator. Well, that could be Allah, or Buddha, or Siva!

There's nothing vague at all about natural theology, except perhaps for those for whom it is above comprehension; it is quite right (if spin-doctored Sesame Street style) to say that one should be able to look at birds for example, complex marvels of nature, and know God exists. The Intelligent Design movement says as much and they are no dummies. As for worries over which Creator is could be, that's why we also have the specific revelation of the Bible and the Gospel as well -- though natural theology also states that the creation reveals much about the character of God that disqualifies these other characters. The pretend panic button is no reason to go seeking specifics in the stars. (As an aside, Buddha was never reckoned as a god, much less a creator god, and Siva was the destroyer, not the creator, of the Hindu pantheon.) Now for this bit of decontextualized nonsense:

In verse 22, Paul clearly says, "Professing themselves to be **wise** they became fools." Now what is the ancient word used for astrology? What does the Bible itself call the three men who found Christ by reading the stars? The WISE men. And knowledge of astrology in ancient times was called WISDOM. Paul is indicting all cultures because all cultures have a very similar astrological concept of the heavens, but their WISE men became fools because they "changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and to four footed beats and creeping things."

We can set that cuckoo clock back a few hours; "wisdom" here has nothing to do with the "wise men" of the KJV; indeed no word for "wise" or "wisdom" is found in the Greek, much less the one used by Paul (sophos). Astrology isn't even close to a germ of an idea here, and an accidental correspondence of English words isn't going to cut it. Our friend is correct to say that men profaned God's creation, but if anything, predictive astrology would be regarded as one of those very profanations.

Onwards, Ps. 19, used by Paul in Romans, is also abused for astrology rather than used for natural theology. So likewise:

(10) Psalm 148:3 Praise ye him, sun and moon: praise him, all ye stars of light.

(11) Job 38:7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

Both of these verses indicate that the stars praise God. Praise to God is not a babble, nor is it chaotic, but organized and doctrinal. If the stars praise God, then they have meaning. If the morning stars sang together, they had a song. Of course the language may be metaphorical (until you read Kepler's works on Harmonics and the Music of the Spheres). But every metaphor is given to create a concrete meaning, not to be passed off and ignored.

It is indeed organized, but what does this say of predicting the future? Nothing. Yes, the language is metaphorical -- Ps. 148:3 fits as natural theology; Job 38:7, though, is a reference to angels as "stars" (sons of God). Yet none of this grants the stars predictive power.

(12) Dan 6:27 He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.

Dan 12:3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.

I want to point out that Daniel associates signs and wonders in the heavens directly with God's workmanship. But how does one know that there is a sign in the heavens unless one can read the heavens? We know that the whole world, except for three Magi, slept through the sign of Christ's nativity, and Israel was blithely unaware of it because they could no longer read the heavens. Daniel's glorification of God for the signs and wonders He creates in the heavens implies that the heavens can be read and the signs and wonders identified.

If this is astrology, then we still want to know how one reads the earth. Once again the pairing of "heaven and earth" signifies creation -- not the stars and reading them specifically. The one point here that could generate some heat is the use of the stars by the magi to discover the birth of the Messiah. We would have at best here one example of the use of stellar objects to send a message, and then, that of something happening in the present (the magi, by Matthew's account, arrived two years or more after the birth) and certainly no warrant to suppose the same means can be used to determine one's personality or decision to take a job or what to get Aunt Matilda for her birthday. It begs the question to say that the ability to read the stars had been lost.

The second cite is used thusly: "So the person who is given the glory of the stars has performed the work of the stars---which is to declare wisdom (the fear of God) and to declare the righteousness of God." Not in the least. There is no such idea of "work of the stars"; the person is compared to a star in their excellence, and this is no more astrological than the words "movie star".

After this further abuse is made of Gen. 1:14. As noted, there is nothing here but a statement like unto "weeks, months and years" -- calendar timeframes. Our friend reads into this verse the idea of "solar returns" (annual times of evaluation of one's life, when the sun returns to the same place it did as when one was born). This again needs to be stretched into the text, especially since it is paired with mundane time markers "days" and "years" which point to the "seasons" being the likes of spring, summer, and fall.

(13) Judges 5:20b "The stars in their courses fought Against Sisera." Modern Christians wax downright eloquent in rephrasing what Deborah sang in praise to God, but anybody familiar with astrology knows exactly what she was saying. If you look at Strong's you see that the translation is just about perfect. You could render the words as "stars in their pathways" or "stars in their highways." In short, the stars moved into position to interfere with Sisera. They moved in accord to become adversarial.

It all sounds good until you check the verse previous: "The kings came and fought, then fought the kings of Canaan in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo; they took no gain of money." Here again "stars" signify political entities (the kings, and the tribes of Israel in the previous verses). If it is literal astrology, why not explain the next verse as hydrology: "The river of Kishon swept them away, that ancient river, the river Kishon. O my soul, thou hast trodden down strength." So, nice try. Our friend is left speculating that some sort of eclipse affected the battle, even as it is not found in the record.

After this we have the expected appeal to:

(14) Joel 2:30-31 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.

Our friend takes this as a sign to watch the heavens, but here again, it is stellar symbolism for political entities that is in view -- the sun and moon representing governments, just as the Rising Sun of Japan and the crescent moon of Islamic nations does.

(15) Luke 21:11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven. Moving to the New Testament, the Lord Jesus points His listeners to the heavens and tells them that there will be signs.

That much may indeed be true, yet we see nothing here concerning using the stars for daily predictions of life. But the prediction above was fulfilled, in a preterist view, thusly: Tacitus reports a comet during the reign of Nero in 60 AD, and Halley's Comet came for a visit in 66. Josephus also records a third astronomical phenomena, a "star resembling a sword" which stood over Jerusalem, and a comet that "continued a whole year." These predicated nothing of astrology as we know it, at best being signals for one particular event and no more "astrological" than the earthquakes which were also signals.

In the same way, Acts 2:19 is abused, and this is followed by an extensive plug for astrology in such manners as: "...And Western astrologers had to agree that in spite of a spectacular planetary alignment in Taurus in May of 2000 that indicated a possible impending shakeup in the stock market, everything looked peaceful. And it was peaceful." Regrettably we are not given any idea what the record of "Western astrologers" has been as a whole, nor any idea how specific their predictions were, nor any names, publication dates, nor any other documentation. This is followed upon by an extensive diatribe about the association of astrology with witchcraft and paganism in Christian circles. I, for one, hardly need such an association to declare astrology bunkum. The daily astrology columns are as useful and as vague as fortune cookies. If the astrologers are that good at their practice, then they should be calling us to let us know when their services are needed.

In a section that follows, there is discussion of Is. 14:12 and the identification of the "morning star" with Satan, and then use of the same words to describe Christ in Revelation. Our friend tries to dispel worries with an astrological solution, which is unnecessary, though their general idea that the "morning star" in Revelation means a primary star (and not the same thing as in Isaiah) is correct. Rather, Jesus identifies himself with the star of Numbers, which is again a political symbol.

In the next section, our astrology fancier notes that "the earliest patriarchs used the stars for planting and harvesting, for planning marriages, for timing life's events." They may well have, for no other reason than that the stars were the only thing that served as wristwatches portending when seasons changed. If you plant crops or want to have a child, it would be a good idea to time it just right in the ancient world, or else you would starve. Practical chronology, not astrology, is what is in view here, as even our friend admits: "The position of the sun, moon, and 'wandering stars' (the first five planets) for the early Israelites and their nomadic neighbors (as opposed to the Egyptians) was a device used for timing things." There is no call to add astrology to the mix. Appeal is then made to Joseph's dream:

It was just a part of their culture, but Joseph's dream of the sun and moon and constellations bowing down to his constellation (Pisces) is extremely prophetic if you understand the astrological implications. His father certainly understood that Joseph was talking about his own father (sun) and mother (moon) and brothers (the other eleven constellations in the ecliptic), who were already designated by God to be the founders of a nation, bowing down to him.

Nice try, but the stellar symbolism of political entities is far more likely in view here; moreover, we do not have "constellations" but single stars, bowing down to Joseph himself, not "his constellation": "And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it his brethren, and said, Behold, I have dreamed a dream more; and, behold, the sun and the moon and the eleven stars made obeisance to me." It is prophetic, but not in the least astrological. One may as well say it is "astronomical" if it uses stars.

Finally for this section, we are told:

Jacob lived in the Age of Taurus (as we live in the ending of the age of Pisces and the beginning of the age of Aquarius), and his blessing of his sons in Genesis that begins with Reuben, his firstborn, starts with Reuben as Taurus and proceeds around the ecliptic (the zodiac) so that Judah is clearly Leo (the Lion), Dan is Scorpio (the prophet), and Joseph is Pisces. Having twelve sons, twelve patriarchs, was itself a prophecy that Jacob was the father of a nation, for the twelve constellations of the ecliptic are the 12 rulers of life on earth. Bullinger, in WITNESS OF THE STARS, gives some evidence that the tribes each carried its own ecliptic sign on its banner.

"Witness of the Stars" is apparently one of these works (I have yet to see one myself) that declares that the Gospel message is foretold in the twelve regarded astrological signs. Either way we have little that suggests predictive astrology or any help for Omarr Bradley.

The article closes with some miscellany. The story of Samson is said to be rife with astrological symbolism. Samson is said to be "a classic Leo, the sign of the zodiac that is ruled by the sun. To Israelites and pagans alike, his lion-like mane of hair, his incredible strength, and his authority identified him as one born in the sign of Leo, and this is the sign that the pagans would associate with a man destined by God/the gods to be their special servant." And: "The natal sign of Leo is associated with a big mane of hair, physical strength, a regal bearing, a love of riddle, jokes, and humor, a love of feasting, a huge appetite for sex, and a high, hot dangerous anger offset by an ability to grandly and magnanimously forgive those who are truly sorry. Samson was true to all of these characteristics." Indeed so? Hmm. Some of this is so subjective as to fit about anyone (especially if the right spin is applied) and the one "Leo" I know fits none of these characteristics. Let's also check out this account of a Leo's characteristics from one online source:

Proud, generous, trusting, domineering, authoritative... The Leonian's faith and trust in humanity, a serene conviction that those who are working for them will do their best and that even those who fail them will be better in the future, all combine to awaken a generous response in the hearts of others. Leos give fresh courage to those around them and set them striving to fulfill their expectations...A Leo is the ideal head of any large enterprise, institution or undertaking. Many-sided, the Leo understands and appreciates the qualities of all the other types and never wastes energy by asking from anyone what it is not in their power to give. Therefore one is particularly successful in organizing activities and distributing duties, giving to the specialists facilities and opportunities for exercising their various faculties. Command, to be effective, must be easily understood and therefore their style is simple and straightforward. Approval is definite and unmistakable and displeasure is intimated without hesitation. Leos hold the past in reverence, as the parent of the present and looks forward to the future as its child. They encourage both science and art through personal interest and patronage and take measures for the well-being of the sick and poverty-stricken. One often practices self-denial and shows constant consideration for others with punctuality, method and forethought; and though their own life might be simple, a Leo can show regal hospitality, shining as host and delighting to give the best to the guest and stranger. It is characteristic of the Leonian type of hospitality that it is always the welcome that really crowns it with success, and never either the richness of the feast not the splendor of the entertainment. In fact, both may leave something to be desired, especially in humble homes, for the mastery of detail is difficult for this type; but the harmony of the gathering will be undisturbed and each guest will be made to feel that they have, in some way, contributed to the general enjoyment.

Gee whiz! With that much laid out you're sure as sure going to find some of that in any Leo, or any person on the street for that matter. Anyway this doesn't seem to match Samson, either. Nor match our friend's much shorter list more than we would expect for random lists. Why the bold parts? Those are the parts that describe ME -- and I assure you I am no Leo.

We are further told of Samson:

Furthermore, when Delilah tried to convince Samson to tell her the secret of his power, Samson played upon her belief in astrology by giving her clues around the zodiac. Leo is the king of the fire signs (Sagittarius, Aries, and Leo). The green "withes" were bowstrings, and these related to the sign of Sagittarius, the Archer....The second piece of information that he told her, the ropes that that had never been used, played their part in the sacrifice of a ram to God. The Law stipulates that the ram sacrificed to God is to be bound with ropes never put to any other use....when he gave her the third clue, binding his hair to a beam (which related to binding the mane of the Lion, Leo, the final fire sign in the zodiac), and that failed, then Delilah became angry and she knew he had been mocking her all along, teasing her for her superstitions.

As it happens the word for "strings" (yether) is used -- once (Ps. 11:2) -- for bowstrings. The second part doesn't play out and comes of a stretch -- I can find no reference to rams being bound with ropes of any kind in the OT. The last part doesn't tell the whole truth: "And he awaked out of his sleep, and went away with the pin of the beam, and with the web." In any event while this would at best suggest indeed Samson teasing Delilah with astrological symbolism, it hardly promotes any idea that the stars may be consulted for future reference. It's no more promoting of astrology than, say, the bull on that can of beer is a sign of Taurus.

In the end, our friend writes: "All of this that I've just written is astrological *reference*, of course. It doesn't prove that astrology has some godly purpose." Indeed it does not. And astrological "reference" doesn't tell us anything. As they stand, the references collected may as well be called astronomical. God challenging Job to affect the Pleadies or Orion is no more astrology then Sagan spouting of the wonders of the cosmos. In the end it is at the least misleading to promote "astrology" from these texts.