Fortune telling is so popular these days because most people want to know if they would have some success in life — having stable jobs, doing right career moves, making good in their businesses, finding the right married mates and the wishes go on ad infinitum. And to peer into their future, they would usually consult horoscope, astrology, crystal balls and Feng Sui and other divinations.
When we look around us and see the deteriorating world’s economy, the various natural calamities now wreaking havoc in different countries, the rising tides of violence such as wars and crimes, the people seem at the loss when they think of life’s uncertainties and they really interested to know their future, in the hope of improving their prospects.
Most people nowadays, ask these questions: What’s really in store for us? Are we heading to better times ahead?
Here in Toronto, there’s a booming industry in fortune telling, most main streets are dotted with dimly-lit stores offering psychic readings, tarots cards, crystal balls, numerology and other forms of divination
Astrology is the divination of the supposed influence of stars and planets on human affairs. Astrologers claim that the position of the planets and sign of zodiac at the time of the person’s birth can influence his life’s course. Horoscope is the position of these planets in any given moment.
As true Christians, it’s important that we make sure about God’s thoughts on the matter of fortune telling and other forms of divination. The Law that God gave to Moses specifically warned the Israelites against looking for omens. “There should not be found in you… anyone who employs divination…. Or anyone who looks for omens,” the Law said. “Everybody doing these things is something detestable to Jehovah”. — Deuteronomy 18:10, 12.
As we can see from this verse, our Heavenly Father, Jehovah God, even used the word” detestable”—in Filipino language, meaning Kasuklam-suklam o kapoot-poot—to drive home a point that he strongly condemns all forms of divinations.
Based on this Scripture, we can say that although astrology is not mentioned by name here, the practice is also evidently prohibited. The Encyclopedia Britannica notes that astrology is a” type of divination that consists in forecasting earthy and human events by means of observing and interpreting the fixed stars, the Sun, the Moon and the planets.”
But there are some people who would claim that the predictions given to them by psychics have come true—but have they ever thought that the forces behind these divinations are Satan and his demons who have the power to manipulate events to mislead and influence the people.
There is an interesting account in the New Testament or the Christian Greek Scriptures in which a girl who “used tom furnish her masters with much gains by practicing the art of prediction”. Apparently, some of this girl’s predictions came true, since her masters profited from her powers. But what was behind the girl’s ability to predict future events? The Bible states that she was under the influence of “a spirit, a demon of divination”—Acts 16:16.
Although, there are some scientific studies which have proved the unreliability of astrology in predicting significant events but still knowing the” forces” behind these divinations, is enough reason for us to avoid these demonic practices of inquiring about the future.
God’s Word is reminding us that the “whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one, Satan the Devil. (1 John 5:19) Satan and his demons are manipulating events to make certain predictions become real— and that’s the real reason why these fortune telling and other demons-influenced divinations are so popular among millions of people at present.
Since God created us with a free will— our life’s choices are not determined by the stars and the planets—the choice is ours, either we do good or bad; and being free moral agents, our Creator will hold us responsible for our actions.—Deut.30:19,20; Rom.14:12.
So my friends and readers, let’s change our ways by avoiding all forms of fortune telling and divinations, thus we show our love for our loving Creator Jehovah God.
Loving him is not just an emotional thing we feel inside us, as His Word says “For this is what the love of God means, that we observe his commandments… ‘’—1 John 5:3