By Marsha West
Profanity, pornography, programs laced with filth in movies and on cable assail us non-stop. Most people are offended by Hollywood’s obsession with polluting the culture. It is no secret that beginning with the tumultuous 1960s, Americans have become little more than trash receptacles for Hollywood’s filth.
While Hollywood goes about corrupting the culture through films, another more subtle force has infiltrated society and successfully corrupted young and old alike. You’ve probably guessed that I’m referring to “spirituality.” I’m not talking about organized religions such as Christianity, Judaism, Islam or Eastern religions.
I’m not even talking about bygone days when ancients like me referred to spirituality as New Age, New Age mysticism, or New Thought, “unifying mind-body-spirit.” Today, for many sojourners, spirituality is the quest for meaning and wholeness, a connection to a higher power, what some deem a “universal mind” or consciousness we can tap into.
For decades this Eastern-influenced moral relativistic metaphysical thought system has spread worldwide like gangrene. I think it’s safe to say that pretty much everyone has been influenced by Eastern mysticism in one way or another.
For more than 50 years now the New Age movement has reared its ugly head in the visible Church in ways you may find surprising. Inside many churches, shepherds have the sheep partaking in what Scripture deems sorcery, i.e. the magic arts, even though Scripture clearly teaches that God hates the ways of pagan cultures. In the Old Testament those who dabbled in practices that were expressly forbidden by The Creator were often destroyed by Him — every man woman and child. Gulp.
If you’re thinking “My God wouldn’t do that,” you’d be wrong. Think: The worldwide flood where God destroyed all living things that’s found in the book of Genesis.
Babylonian Practices Must Be Abandoned By Believers
Astrology is a popular pagan practice among most people who are into spirituality. What’s imperative for the Bible believing Christian to understand is that astrology is one of the occult arts that God’s people are forbidden to join in. Even so, supposed followers of Jesus Christ can explain in great depth the sign of Taurus the bull, but they know little or nothing about Paul of Tarsus. Truth be told, their preference is reading a daily horoscope rather than a daily devotional.
Besides astrology, quite a few Christians partake in “Christian yoga,” a topic I’ve written about here. The Enneagram, essential oils and martial arts have also been brought into churches. As well, contemplative prayer (meditation that can cause the practitioner to go into altered states of consciousness), visualization, declarations of words of power, divine power to heal, balancing energy, chakras, acupuncture, reiki, walking a labyrinth, plus a whole host of personalized readings (fortune telling). Here’s something most of you aren’t aware of — Destiny Cards! Destiny Cards are Bethel Redding’s version of tarot cards used by Bethelite mediums to do readings.
Another thing you may not know is that many so-called Christians who have a YouTube channel use different methods of numerology to attempt to pinpoint when the Rapture of the Church will occur. (To date their predictions have been 100% wrong.)
I personally know believers, most of whom are women, who spend precious time seeking ways to achieve hidden wisdom that, in their minds, other Christians aren’t privy to. However, the way they go about achieving hidden wisdom is through modern-day prophets and visionaries, those who believe they’re the “enlightened ones,” even more enlightened than the original twelve apostles were. But their way is not the way Paul describes hidden wisdom in Romans 11:33. Paul taught that the Holy Spirit reveals things to Spirit filled Christians (God’s elect) that is not otherwise obvious. And by the way, God is not obligated to reveal His will to us and He keeps things hidden from us for our own good!
Today’s churches have been….I’m going to come right out and say it….feminized. I repeat, churches have become feminized largely due to the feminist movement of the 1960s that has established its worldly unbiblical agenda in churches. Without going too far in the weeds, I’ll just say that women tend to lead with their emotions. Moreover, often a woman’s theology and thus the theology she espouses is based on feelings, not on what the infallible Word of God says.
Getting back to the topic at hand. Many will argue that astrology can be scientifically proven. Well, it can’t. And besides, that’s irrelevant. God’s Word clearly teaches that Christians are to have no part in Zodiac or horoscope signs. Do not participate in games such as the Ouija board and Dungeons & Dragons. No on psychics, palm readers and séances — stay away from anyone who supposedly communicates with the dead (necromancy). Tarot cards and casting Runes are prohibited. Magic potions, charms, crystals and any other form of witchcraft is off limits. Avoid the esotericism (mystical branches of Christianity that study the “inner teachings” of early Christianity). Sadly, many professing Christians are attracted to the above occult beliefs and rituals, like a moth to a flame.
You’d have to be visually impaired not to notice all the ads promoting astrology. Go online and search for horoscope. Faster than you can say spirits of darkness, you’ll have a “personalized reading” by a “famous astrologer,” for a hefty fee, naturally.
Astrology is promoted on websites, social media, email, television, radio networks, newspapers and magazines. What these efforts have resulted in is that gazillions of people receive daily horoscopes on their cell phones. According to BBC “TikTok, the year’s fastest-growing app in terms of monthly active users, introduced a generation of newcomers to the language of the Zodiac, and made internet celebrities of its most successful astrological accounts.”
What is the biblical perspective on horoscopes? Read the Bible and you’ll discover that the younger generation of fortune tellers are practicing witchcraft (magick), which is undiluted evil. (More on this in a moment.)
The following comes from the website of a self-professed witch:
I AM the tabernacle.
I AM the bread, and the fermented swell of mixed grain and water.
I AM the labyrinth that god moves through to the center of me, lighting passages and rounded corridors with celestial light of night.
I AM the veil and I AM the parting of it.
I AM the vessel poured out and the plenitude sought.
I AM the gathering place; the shade in the desert sun.
Of this density I will weave magicks.
Those blasphemous words flowed from the pen of a woman who takes pride in declaring she’s a witch. The woman is an acquaintance of mine.
Blameless Before The Lord Your God
Why is astrology my primary focus? Because this dangerous tool of the occult has found its way into the visible Church and there seems to be no holding it back, even amongst those who believe themselves to be spiritually discerning.
Astrology encompasses many different divinatory practices that New Agers are hooked on. Some of these practices are revealed above – but there are way too many of them to include in a short article of this nature. A word of warning: Whatever you’re involved in, follow the example of the noble Bereans and “examine the scriptures” to make sure that what you’ve embraced is pleasing to God (Acts 17:11).
The “godlike science” of astrology was birthed in Babylon in the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. Most false systems of religion had their roots in the land of pagans that worshipped a plethora of counterfeit “gods.” Astrology was all the rage with the Babylonians and it was especially popular amongst royal astrologers of the Babylonian court. It should come as no surprise that the Holy Spirit inspired Old Testament mocks astrology. Speaking for the Lord, Jeremiah said “Do not learn the ways of the nations or be terrified by signs in the sky, though the nations are terrified by them” (Jer. 10:2).
For some people, exposure to astrology and other seemingly innocent practices may lead to greater involvement in a very dangerous world ruled by demonic forces. There is no way of knowing what the future holds for those who choose to expose themselves to the world of the occult. So, to avoid getting mired in the myriad of inherent dangers purveyors of evil attempt to lure you into, you must tune out those voices and listen to what God says! 
When you come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. 10There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer 11or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, 12for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD. And because of these abominations the LORD your God is driving them out before you. 13You shall be blameless before the LORD your God (Deuteronomy 18:9-13).
Jeff Maples reminds us that,
God’s pattern of dealing with fakes hasn’t changed—He has always had a fierce response to those who feign devotion. Look at his treatment of Israel in Deuteronomy 28: Israel, despite being God’s chosen, was warned of unthinkable horrors—even mothers eating their own children—if they abandoned His dictates. Such gruesome imagery demonstrates the lengths to which God would go to chastise even those who profess His name when they disobey Him.” (Source)
Here are more of the words God spoke to Israel in Old Testament Leviticus 19:26-31; 2 Chronicles 33:6; Isaiah 47:13-14, also in New Testament Acts 7:41-43.
I urge you to read those scriptures and when you do, notice that God didn’t say, “Please.” He said, “Do not.” In other words, No! Also notice that God was provoked to anger! What happens when the Creator becomes angry? “…the earth trembles; the nations cannot endure his wrath” (Jeremiah 10:10). Gulp.
And by the way, in Matthew 5:17 the Lord Jesus proclaimed the authority of the Old Testament when he said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”
So – here’s my question to the professing Christian who takes part in occult practices: Is what some crystal ball gazer or Destiny Cards medium tells you about future events important enough to make God angry with you? Is consulting a fortune teller important enough that you’d take the risk that God will turn away from you?
In the scriptures we learn that only pagans practiced astrology. No self-respecting Jew would dare become involved in something God opposes for fear that the Almighty might strike him/her dead. As previously stated, God has been known to strike people dead on the spot for their blatant defiance. Ananias and Sapphira lied to the Holy Spirit and wham! God zapped them both. Gulp.
So why do millions of people hand over their lives and hard-earned money to a medium, even knowing that astrology is bogus and that it’s not supported by the scientific community? Moreover, why would any person who openly professes faith in Jesus Christ take part in the things the Bible expressly forbids?
One of the first things you learn in Christianity 101 is that spiritual forces of darkness masquerade as angels of light. What does the Bible say? “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” It does not say, “Hollywood is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
Keep Your Guard Up!
Don’t make the mistake of thinking you’re going to escape all the temptations that besiege you, because you will not. Don’t get me wrong. If you’re indwelled by the Holy Spirit, Satan cannot harm you (unless God allows it for reasons we mere mortals are not privy to). Still, the devil will do his level best to keep you tangled up in a web of deception. Sounds grim, doesn’t it? All the same, it’s true. He’s one mean machine, so Christians must be prepared to battle the “Prince of Darkness” and his minions. There’s only one way to protect against the darts and arrows of the enemy — put on the full armor of God!
One last thing. Christ came to war against the spiritual forces of darkness, not to aid them in implementing evil (Luke 11:14-23). Keep in mind that there’s gonna be hell to pay for anyone who does not recognize sound teaching. Any individual who leads people astray by introducing doctrines of demons into the visible Church, such as the ones laid out in this article, is in league with the devil. If you are involved in an occult practice, in obedience to the truth and to honor God, you must give it up now. Repent of your sins. Ask for forgiveness. God will forgive you!
Related
Were the Magi, astrologers? By Rev Phil Greetham
Why Do You Love Your Sin So Much? By Marsha West
Marsha West, August 2023