Everyone recognizes that our genetics affects us physically, such as passing down physical maladies and disease. In saying this, we also need to realize that we are made up of body, soul, and spirit. Generational character weakness and behavioral patterns can and do affect us. The word of God tells us that generational iniquity visits us to the third and fourth generation. Even though our sins and weaknesses can be passed down through the generations, we are all personally responsible for our sins against the Lord.
Ezekiel 18:30-32 says, “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, each one in accordance with his conduct,” says the Lord God. “Repent (change your way of thinking) and turn away from all your transgressions, so that sin may not become a stumbling block to you. Cast away from you all your transgressions, which you have committed [against Me], and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! For why should you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,” says the Lord God. “Therefore, repent and live!” (AMP)
When we minister to those who are ill, we often ask if they know of any other family member who has suffered from the same illness. Often, they will tell us of a parent, grandparent, sibling, or even an Aunt or Uncle, who has or is suffering from the same disease. When we hear this, we know there is a good chance we are dealing with a generational spirit. The Bible is clear that when our ancestors’ sin, they bind future generations with the effects or results of that sin.
The scriptures indeed teach that children are not responsible for the sins of their parents. However, if a parent is involved in particularly gross, violent, sexual, or occult sin, it can and often does produce a curse upon future generations. It sows susceptibility, or a weakness, which passes ungodly fruit from one generation to the next. Take the tendency in families to be oppressed to the extent of actually committing suicide. Of course, not all of the family will suffer from extreme mental oppression, but most of the time, in almost every generation, there seems to be at least one individual that is susceptible and falls victim to its grip.
There are consequences to sin, and though we are not accountable for the sins of previous generations, we cannot escape those consequences without divine intervention. Ex. 20:5 and 34:7, Num. 14:18, Deut. 5:9 shows us the results of generational sin. However, Matthew 13:8 shows us that what we sow does multiply, and if we sow good seed, it will produce good fruit, and if we plant thorns, we will harvest thorns. The good news is that we can break generational curses by canceling their assignment and stop the demonic from passing the sin to even the fourth generation. The more cleansing we receive through the power and authority of Jesus, the more we experience His freedom.
Generational Illustrations of the Curse versus Blessings
Consider the following studies that were done by the State of New York’s Welfare department on a woman who lived in the early 1900s by the name of Mag. Mag was an immigrant who became a prostitute. For 70 years, they traced 1,200 of Mag’s descendants and found the following: 280 were state-supported paupers, 148 were jailed criminals.
A study done on 1,200 descendants of the Jukes family came away with these statistics. Max Jukes was an atheist who married a godless woman and had some 560 descendants; 310 died as paupers, 150 became criminals, 7 were murderers, and 100 were known to be drunkards. More than half the women were prostitutes.
Jonathan Edwards lived during the time of Max Jukes. He was a Christian who married a godly woman. Of his 1,394 descendants, 295 graduated from college, 13 became college presidents, and 65 became professors. Three were elected U.S. senators, three were elected state governors, and others were ministers to foreign countries. Thirty were judges, one hundred were lawyers, and one was the dean of a medical school. Seventy-five became officers in the army and navy. One hundred were well-known missionaries, preachers, and authors; another eighty held some form of public office. One was the Comptroller of the U.S. Treasury another became Vice President of the U.S.
Andrew Murray was a South African missionary who had eleven children: five became ministers, four became minister’s wives, ten grandsons became ministers, and 13 grandsons became foreign missionaries.
A study done by Dr. D. H. Scott revealed a 237% greater risk of having a child with physical and emotional handicaps if the mother is in a stormy relationship or has a troublesome marriage during pregnancy. Father Marshall Lowell—an Episcopal priest—was a member of a family that had a repeated pattern of one male per generation dying at alternating ages. One died at age forty-two, the next died at age sixty-five, the next at age forty-two again, and so on. He prayed to God to break the curse and survived.
A study done in 1978 at Loyola University found that some patients attempted suicide every year on the same date. They found that the time coincided with the dates on which their mothers had tried to abort them.
Margaret was seventy-three years old when she began to have “attacks.” The attacks were very violent outbursts of temper and unprovoked aggression. Her mother (who had died four years previously at age ninety-six) had behaved similarly, starting around the same age as Margaret’s outburst. For the past six generations, the eldest female in the family lineage had also shown signs of equally disturbing behavior. This behavior started about 150 years earlier, with a murder that took place in the family. After that, within the family line, the eldest daughter had always become an alcoholic, exhibiting similar behavior.
Calling Forth the Blessings of Past Generations
We give these true to life stories and statistics as examples of the power of the law of sowing and reaping that has a profound effect upon the generations. We also want to say that these effects appear to become more evident when there is an actual passing away of one generation to the next. That is why it is most important to pray at these times to declare the blood of Jesus to stand between you and the previous generation and to cancel every assignment of darkness and to remove every right of the demonic to afflict you. It is also essential that you call for the righteous inheritance that is yours and receive the blessings of the past generation!
“The Lord Bless you and keep you, the Lord Make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you, The Lord Make His Face to shine toward you and give you peace. May His favor be upon you for a thousand generations and your family and your children and their children. “The Blessing” is an incredible song! May His presence always be our sustenance and our peace!
Kingdom Life Ministry 
Great article, thank you both so much!
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