Understanding Generational Curses – Part 1 (Adamic Curse Versus Generational Curse)

Have you ever encountered a family where the grandfather was an alcoholic, the father has the same problem and now the son seems to be drinking like a fish? How about the grandfather who died of heart disease, the father also died of the same disease and now the son is suffering from heart disease? How about the grandfather who failed miserably in his business, and the father is bankrupt and now the son is in financial bondage? The most familiar so-called “evidence” of generational curses is that certain negative behavioral traits such as anger management issues, suicidal tendencies, adultery, incest, and other moral failures seem to run deep in the family from generation to generation.

Are these issues part of the “generational curses” as believed by so many? The answer is yes and no, depending on how and what you understand about “generational curses”.

What Is A Generational Curse?
A generational curse is deemed to be a continual pattern of negative behaviors, physical ailments, or tragic events that are being passed from generation to generation. The most common reference to the “evidence” of the generational curse is the family diseases that pass down through the generations. Many believers, who continue to live under the bondage of sins believe that they have inherited all these tendencies to sin from their forefathers and so they cannot help but sin. That sounds a lot like the result of the Adamic curse because of the Fall rather than the generational curses. Could it be that most believers have mistaken the Adamic curse to be generational curses?

Inherited Diseases
One of the common symptoms mentioned in the teaching of the “generational curses” are the inherited diseases and infirmities that seem to run in the family. For example. I used to suffer from an inherited genetic disorder known as ankylosing spondylitis (The Lord has miraculously healed me from this chronic pain caused by a fused spine and I am now practically pain-free). My father had the same dilapidating disease and had to be hospitalized. I had no idea if my paternal grandfather had it or not because he passed away before he was even 40 years old. (This autoimmune disease becomes highly active when the patient reaches 40 years of age). Many other families struggle with inherited illnesses such as cancer, weak heart condition, diabetes, high blood pressure, mental disorder, etc.

Breaking Generational Curses?
For the proponents of “generational curses” such medical conditions would be counted as spiritual bondages or a part of the generational curses. And they advocate a ritual whereby you verbally break the curses. You will notice there are many different non-biblical methods such as drawing up the family tree known as a genogram. Then, the person is encouraged to go back generation after generation and “break” every curse. Some offer special prayers to break these generational curses while others go to the “courts of heaven” to appropriate their legal rights against the curses. All these non-biblical approaches are new and we have never read about them in church history. However, they are very popular among many believers and some vowed that these approaches are really effective. It could be a placebo effect because there is no precedent of such rituals in the Bible.

Once again, I reiterate that these discrepancies in life are the results of the Adamic curse but not the accumulated sins of later ancestors that created the “generational curses”. And I also believe that if there are sins in our lives, we can repent, if there is a real demon we can cast it out, and if there are diseases we can heal. All these can be done in the mighty name of Jesus, with His kingly authority that is given to us. Let’s find out what the Adamic curse is all about.

The Adamic Curse – Hereditary Depravity
In Genesis 3:16-19, Adam and Eve disobeyed and sinned against God. As Adam was the federal head of mankind, his disobedience brought a curse of hereditary depravity upon all mankind. The curse resulted in several discrepancies in the order of God on earth:

• Satan became the ruler of this world
• He is seeking to destroy mankind
• Women will give birth in pain
• Marriage will have strife and conflict
• The land is cursed and does not produce crops easily
• There will be thorns and thistles everywhere
• In order to survive, mankind will have to struggle
• Human beings will grow old and weak
• Diseases and pain will be a part of mankind
• Death will come to all and the bodies will return to dust

Hope In The Midst Of The Curse
In the midst of all these negative reactions, God gave us one promise of redemption and that is found in Genesis 3:15 – “And I will put enmity between you [Satan] and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise Him on the heel.” You’ll notice the word is “Seed” and not “seeds” – that “Seed” is our Lord Jesus Christ. He had come to crush the head of Satan by allowing His heel to be bruised at Calvary cross. The Bible says in 1 John 3:8 – “For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.”

Are You Still Under The Adamic Curse?
When we understand that all “generational curses” are actually the results of the Adamic Curse, then we must find how we can come out of this major bondage. Jesus used the illustration of a slave being set free when He said, “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” (John 8:36). That is the power of salvation accorded by the Lord. He also said that if whosoever holds on to His teaching, then”you know the truth, the truth will set you free.” ( John 8:32). All these words reveal that Jesus has set us free from the slavery of the Adamic curse and that we are no longer under its bondage anymore. Do we need a set of special rituals to set us free? Do we need to go back to generations of ancestors and break every sin that they had committed? No! The Son of God is powerful enough to set us free from all sins and also from these superstitious activities.

The Price Has Been Paid
Whether you believe in the “generational curses” or the “Adamic curse”, the great news is that Jesus has paid the price for the curses of those who have accepted Him as their Savior. Sadly, those who do not accept His salvation are still under the Adamic curse and if you prefer, generational curses.

The truth is that Christ was made a curse for all who are His disciples and so we are now freed from the curses of our own sins and also those of our forefathers. Once again, the words of Paul the Apostle found in Galatians 3:13 – “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole”. Peter says that Jesus came to bear “our sins in His body on the tree that we might live to righteousness” (1 Peter 2:24). The cross is an important factor. When Christ died, He covered us with His blood and nullified the sins, and curses of all who believe in Him. (Ephesians 2:8).

Jesus Broke The Adamic Curse
The ultimate result of the Adamic Curse is death. May I repeat that the Bible says in Galatians 3:13 that Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree” ). When Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life,” what He meant was that He had come to reverse this curse. Paul says, “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22). He also adds, “The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

You Are Born Again
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:50 – “I declare to you, brothers and sisters, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.” If you are still flesh and blood, following the lineage of first Adam, how are you going to inherit the kingdom of God? In order to inherit the kingdom of God what must happen? Jesus said to Nicodemus in John 3:3 – “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.” So, you have your answer – once you accept Jesus Christ as your Savior, you are “born again”. The phrase “born again” literally in the Greek means “born from above. The new birth happens when God bestows eternal life to you when you accept Jesus as your Savior. (2 Corinthians 5:17; Titus 3:5; 1 Peter 1:3; 1 John 2:29; 3:9; 4:7; 5:1-4, 18). You have become a child of God through your trust in the name of Jesus (John 1:12-13).

You Are Of A Different Bloodline
When you are born again, you have a different bloodline of the Second or Last Adam who is Jesus Christ. Jesus affirms in John 3:5-6, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.” You are not in the bondage of a so-called “generational curse” because the simple truth is that there is no condemnation or curse for those who are in Christ. (Romans 8:1). You don’t have to go to any “courts of heaven” to remind the King of kings or the devil that you have been legally set free and that you are now of the royal bloodline.

Additional Rituals To Dissolve The Curses?
According to the proponents of the generational curses, the death and resurrection of Jesus only made it legal for us to get out of the curse but they claim that it is up to us to enforce it. They believe that legally you are free but practically you are not. The idea that they conjure up is an image of the judge who renders a verdict but that the judge does not come down from his bench to execute his verdict. That means that there are rituals of enforcement we have to perform to dissolve the curses. All these sound very logical except that they are not biblical. Their illustration of the judge is also not accurate – the judge does not need to physically step out of his bench to set the prisoner free. The whole court system is under his authority. With one word of instruction, the sheriffs or police on duty would uncuff the prisoner and set him free. There is no need for another special ritual to appropriate the verdict.

Moreover, nowhere in the Bible teaches additional rituals to break curses. You don’t have to break any curse by yourself because Jesus has broken the curses for you. He does not only make it legal but enforces it for you. You will remember that Jesus has been given all power and authority in heaven and on earth to break all your bondages and curses (Matthew 28:18). And He has sent the Holy Spirit to live within you.

After you are saved, then you go through the sanctifying process by the Holy Spirit. This process is not for the purpose of breaking the Adamic curse or generational curses. It is the sanctifying process of spiritual transformation. Any demons that are afflicting you can be cast out, any inherited diseases can be healed in the mighty name of Jesus and the believers can repel all temptations with the help of the Holy Spirit.

In the next few articles, we shall look objectively at some of the pet scriptures offered by the proponents of generational curses and see if they actually support their premise. We will also study why this new teaching of generational curses has taken root and becomes very popular.

Here is a video teaching about how to overcome witchcraft, black magic, and curses.

Is Unforgiveness Blocking Your Healing?

Since 2005, I have ministered healing successfully to more than 10,000 people and I praise God that they have been gloriously healed. However, I notice another large group of people, even though they have great faith to be healed but still do not receive their healing miracles.

There may be various reasons why they are not healed but after having counseled and checked many cases, I traced the discrepancy to one huge, ugly obstacle and that it is unforgiveness. This confirmed what I have learned from the Bible and also from my mentor, Pastor William Lau, the founder of The Elijah Challenge. The unconfessed sins of bitterness, hatred, and unresolved anger are actually hindering God’s blessings and healing miracles.

In a few of the deliverance encounters, demons left upon my command but returned quickly to the victims. I call this the “Swinging-Door Syndrome“. Unforgiveness somehow gives the demons the legal ground to enter the victim again. (Matthew 12:43-45).

Our Lord Jesus knew the danger of unforgiveness and how it would hurt us – and so He gave this admonition, “if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive the wrongs you have done.” (Matthews 6:15).

In Matthew 9, we read the narrative of a paralyzed man lowered from the roof so that Jesus could heal him. Before Jesus healed him, He first forgave the sins of the paralyzed man. The paralysis was obviously caused by the man’s sins and therefore that needed to be dealt with.

In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Forgive us the wrongs we have done, as we forgive the wrongs that others have done to us.” (Matthews 6:12)

Peter was trying to place a limit to forgiveness when he asked, “Lord, if my brother keeps on sinning against me, how many times do I have to forgive him? Seven times?” ‘No, not seven times,’ answered Jesus, ‘but seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:21-22). In short, Jesus was teaching that in the kingdom of God, we should always forgive each other. There is no limit to forgiveness.

Paul emphasized, “You must forgive one another just as the Lord has forgiven you.” (Colossians 3:13).

A forgiven person should be the first to recognize the need to forgive others. The chances why it is difficult for most believers to forgive is because they have forgotten that they are forgiven people. When believers fail to accept the truth of their own forgiveness, they continue to live with a sense of guilt and self-condemnation. The hurts caused by the offenses that have been taken away by the Lord at the cross, continue to be upon them. This perpetually generates unlimited guilt and shame upon their lives.

There is no freedom of Christ for those who have allowed themselves to be shackled and imprisoned by their own harsh judgmental attitude. People who are under judgment will always judge others. When you shackle yourself to the notion of “justice” and that you must get even with those people who hurt you or despitefully use you, you lose your freedom within your spirit. You no longer can be gracious or operate from the zone of grace.

The truth of the kingdom is that the people who recognize themselves to be under grace, find the source of strength to always be gracious to others. Once you realize that you are no longer under judgment but have been fully forgiven by the grace of God, you are liberated and become free. Suddenly, you’ll notice that the door of your self-imposed prison of judgment has never been locked. The grace of God has smashed every lock of judgement and condemnation. You do not need to remain in this dreadful dungeon anymore but step out into the sunshine of grace and forgiveness. Now you will have the grace and freedom to forgive others seventy times seven times.

Here are some declarations that you present before the Lord and be set free from the shackle of unforgiveness:

In the mighty name of Jesus, I nullify the power of these past offenses that have been keeping me in mental anguish, emotional shackles and spiritual bondage.

I surrender to the Lord any right to judge so-and-so for saying bad things about me or doing harm to me.

I write off any responsibility, debt, liability, or obligation that the person owes me because of past offenses.

By the power of the Holy Spirit, I forgive all who have offended me and release them unto the Lord.

I humbly submit to the Lord and ask Him for courage, grace and strength to relate with the person without regard to past offenses.

I am asking and will continue to ask God’s blessings to be upon their well-beings.

Here is a video on Radical Forgiveness! Trust that it will help you. God bless!