Biblically, the stars are servants, not gods. The stars are secondary in the creation account as they are created on the fourth day to serve as signs. Astrology, or stargazing, is viewed by prophets such as Jeremiah (10:2-3) and Isaiah (47:13) as an unreliable way of gaining information. Sometimes Scripture records God using the sun, moon and stars in a miraculous way, such as the star of Bethlehem and the miracle of Hezekiah's cure and Joshua praying for the sun to stand still. For the Old Testament Jews and the New Testament Christian, whether or not there was anything to astrology was beside the point, it didn't matter, God ruled the universe. Our lives are written in God's book of life and not in the stars.
A fascinating vision in the book of Revelation may contain allusions to the zodiac an allusion that cements the Biblical view of the heavenly bodies. In Revelation chapter four the apostle John is taken in to heaven where he sees the throne room of God. Sitting upon a sea of crystal are four living creatures. The creatures are angelic being with wings. The have eyes everywhere. One creature looks like an ox, the other a lion, the other a man and the other an eagle. The angels worship God day and night.
The zodiac contains four creatures that may resemble these angels. These are the four "fixed" signs of the zodiac. Leo the lion sits opposite of Aquarius the man. Taurus the bull (or ox) sits opposite of Scorpio. Historically, it can be argued that Scorpio is also represented by the eagle or the phoenix. It then follows that the eyes are the stars of the constellation and the sea of glass is the firmament. The theological lesson is this: the heavens declare the glory of God. The stars are God's servants, they surround his throne and give him glory. This is a powerful message for those surrounded by paganism. God is above whatever forces a person think is at work above them and the stars along with the planets are not gods but servants of the one true God.
In Ezekiel's prophecy the cherubim are surround the throne of God but have a slightly different appearance. Each creature has four faces, the faces include that of a man, bull, lion and eagle. The other two visions of God's throne room are in Daniel chapter seven and Isaiah chapter six. The angels are present in Isaiah chapter six minus the description. In Daniel chapter seven the throne of God is pictured with wheels, as it is in Ezekiel, but a river of fire flows from the throne of God. Some have interpreted the river of fire to be the milky way. Interestingly, the end of Revelation pictures the river of the water of life flowing from the throne of the lamb.
God compared Abraham's descendants to the stars. Later, Joseph receives a vision where the heavenly bodies represent his family. His brothers represent the stars and his father and mother represent the sun and the moon. In Revelation chapter twelve we see a vision of a woman clothed with the sun with the moon at her feet and a crown of twelve stars. This woman represents Israel as she gives birth to the Messiah. Many have tried to match Jacob's sons with the signs of the Zodiac. Below is an example.
Rueben "Turbulent as the waters." Aquarius
Simeon "Brothers...violence." Gemini
Levi Libra
Judah "You are a lion..." Leo
Zebulon "Dwell at the shore..." Pisces
Issachar "Donkey..." Bull
Dan "Viper..." Scorpio
Gad "Raiders..." Sagittarius
Asher "Food..." Virgo (stalk of grain)
Naphtali Aries
Joseph Cancer
Benjamin "Wolf" Capricorn
While I see some theological richness in considering the constellation-like appearance in the angels of Revelation and Ezekiel, attaching the zodiac to the 12 tribes of Israel is a bit of a stretch. The number 12 is certainly used throughout Scripture to refer to people of God but the heavenly bodies are secondary. God chose to make his dwelling place with man and because of his love we will someday shine like stars (Daniel 12:3),
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