God gave clear guidelines that those who follow Him are not to worship the stars or any other forms of idolatry. |
Gospel
in the Stars
Is
There Really a Gospel in the Stars?
Jared Laskey
God created the
heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1).
On the fourth day of creation, God said, "Let there be lights in the
expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be
signs to indicate seasons, and days, and years" (Genesis 1:14).
God created the sun,
moon and stars. The sun was to rule the day, and the moon was to rule the night.
The stars were created "to
give light on the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide
the light from the darkness" (Genesis
1:17-18, Psalm 136:7-9).
God's intended
purposes for the stars were to give light and to be signs for seasons, days and
years. Mankind learned to find directions at night using stars and to formulate
calendars.
When we look at the
stars, we are to be drawn to worship the Creator and not His creation.
The prophet Isaiah
revealed in Isaiah 40:26, that we are to lift-up our eyes to see the One who
created them. He gave each star a name and knows their number just like He
knows us better than we know ourselves (Psalm 147:4-5,
Luke 12:7).
In the book of Job, we
are drawn into awe for God who commands the sun and seals the stars. He is the
One who made Orion and all constellations (Job 9:7-9, 38:31-33).
God gave clear
guidelines that those who follow Him are not to worship the stars or any other
forms of idolatry (Deuteronomy 4:19).
He clearly stated that
any source of spiritual guidance outside of Scripture is forbidden.
And those who prophesy
by the stars cannot save anyone but will be consumed by fire (Isaiah 47:13-14).
I have seen people
prophesy that when a specific star or comet or constellation is in a certain
location, then the Holy Spirit will be poured out more on a geographic location
or ministry.
But these
proclamations are not scriptural. The Holy Spirit is poured out upon us
already, just as He was poured out on Christ (John 3:34, Acts 2).
If a star or
constellation is in a certain location in the sky, it has no bearing on the
Spirit of God or the manifest presence of God.
It is only to be a
light and a designation for days, seasons and years, and make us admire the
Creator for its beauty.
But someone may ask, "What about the star of Bethlehem?" Numbers 24:17 says, "a star will come out of Jacob."
It is a prophecy that
many people consider as referencing the star that lit the way for the magi to
travel form the east to Israel.
The magi were closely
acquainted with Jewish scriptures as they were in the discipleship lineage of
Daniel. However, this star was not a supernova, comet or a triple conjunction
of Jupiter and Regulus.
Instead, the wise men
were familiar with the prophecies of the coming Messiah, and upon seeing the
star, they knew it was the supernatural sign of the newborn King.
It did not act like a
normal star as it would appear and disappear for them (Matthew 2:2, Matthew 2:10).
It also did not stay
in the cosmos, as it later appeared directly over the house Jesus was living
when the Magi arrived into Bethlehem.
This sign lit the way
to the Savior for these magi to honor Him.
The theory of a
gospel in the stars was first published in the 1860s with no ancient sources
verifying its claims.
Among the proponents
of this theory, there is no agreement for which "Biblical" zodiac
chart is the true one to allegedly date back to Adam or Seth.
And when the scriptures used to justify this theory
are studied, the "gospel in the stars" disappears, similarly to how
the stars will eventually fall from the sky, being burned up and dissolved (Matthew 24:29, 2 Peter 3:10).
These theories are
recycled and rebranded from time to time, even though they have been refuted
many times.
A principle of
Biblical interpretation is that Scripture interprets Scripture.
The stars are not
interpreters, and no zodiacal chart can be used to interpret the Bible. Even
though the stars do not preach the gospel message, we can look at them and be
drawn to worship the Lord.
But we also cannot
interpret star constellations by Scripture because the Bible makes no room for
this. There is no verse encouraging us to do this, and God has only spoken
through His prophets and recorded word.
As Hebrews 1:1-2 says, "God, who at various times and in
diverse ways spoke long ago to the fathers through the prophets, has in these
last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things,
and through whom He made the world."
And we only respond to the original gospel preached which
is "how Christ
died for our sins according to the Scriptures, was buried, rose again the third
day according to the Scriptures" (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).
Any other gospel
message that does not align to this is contrary to the Bible.
David, the psalmist, said, "The heavens declare the glory of
God, and the firmament shows His handiwork" (Psalm 19:1).
This only refers to
general revelation, that everything around us and above us points to a Creator,
like a work of art was painted by an artist and is not a reference for the
stars having a secret or hidden gospel message.
As we look upon all
God has created, seeing its wonder and beauty, considering all it contains
which is a great masterpiece, we worship the great Artist, the designer of all
creation.
And each one of us are
to preach the Gospel to the whole world, as faith comes by hearing the Gospel
and not by the stars (Mark
16:15, Romans 10:17).
Jared Laskey is
starting Destiny Open Bible Church in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and is a
contributing writer to Charisma magazine online. He lives to see
Jesus awaken this generation to the power of His Holy Spirit. You can follow
him on Twitter @jaredalaskey. For more information check out firebornministries.org.
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Song written by Laura
Story
From the new
"Essential Collection" album
by Chris Tomlin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IlVfkY5q54ChrisTomlinVEVO
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