Images and Generational Patterns of Iniquity

 

Any Greek or Hebrew translations are quoted from

New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible

James Strong, LL.D., S.T.D.

Thomas Nelson Publishers 1990 edition

 

Having statues, or pictures, in our home of what we think are angels will invite evil ‘familiars’ to visit.  These false images are pagan, and the influence behind them is evil.  The baby graven image with wings that people refer to as a ‘cherub’ is nothing more than ‘cupid’, which is a mythological creature.  See my documents on ‘cupid’ and on ‘mythology’.  Mythology is the belief in many gods, and it is a false religion.  We are not to have any images that represent false religion – including those passed down to us through religious tradition.  To put it plain and simple, this is paganism, and idolatry!

Christians somehow think because they own these images that the images are not considered pagan anymore, and somehow it is now acceptable to God.  We are supposed to be leading people out of darkness, not mixing paganism and Christianity together, creating a spiritual prison.  Isaiah 42:7:  To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.  How can we, as Christians, help open the eyes of the blind when we are blind?  Isaiah 42:17-20:  They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to molten images, ye are our gods.  Hear, ye deaf, and look, ye blind, that ye may see.  Who is blind, but my servant?  Or deaf, as my messenger that I sent?  Who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the Lord’s servant?  Seeing many things, but thou observest not; opening the ears, but he heareth not.  Jeremiah 5:21:  Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not.  The Bible says that true worshippers will worship God in spirit and in truth, not in flesh and in truth.  John 4:23:  But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth:  for the Father seeketh such to worship him.  Psalm 145:18:  The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.

We cannot continue mixing paganism with Christianity or we will eventually lose the fear and reverence we have for the Lord.  II Kings 17:33-34:  They feared the Lord, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence.  Unto this day they do after the former manners:  they fear not the Lord, neither do they after their statutes, or after their ordinance, or after the law and commandment which the Lord commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named Israel.  The word ‘fear(ed)’ in II Kings 17:33-34 is “yare, yaw-ray’; …mor. reverent”.  As you can see in verse 33 it says they feared God and had their own gods, but by verse 34 they had lost their fear (moral reverence) for God.  Then, by verse 41 they again tried to regain their reverence but continued mixing their reverence for the Lord with their pagan images – just as Christians do today, and also teach their children.  II Kings 17:40-41:  Howbeit they did not hearken, but they did after their former manner.  So these nations feared the LORD, and served their graven images, both their children, and their children's children: as did their fathers, so do they unto this day.  The word ‘fear(ed)’ in II Kings 17:41 is “yare, yaw-ray’; …mor. reverent”.  In these last days Christians cannot continue to keep, or reverence, our own traditional man-made gods (images) and also try to serve and reverence the One and Only true God.  It will not work!  Just look at the following scriptural examples.  Zephaniah 1:5:  And them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them that worship and that swear by the Lord, and that swear by Malcham.  Exodus 20:3 and Deuteronomy 5:7:  Thou shalt have no other gods before me.  Exodus 20:25:  And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone:  for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it.  Joshua 22:19:  Notwithstanding, if the land of your possession be unclean, then pass ye over unto the land of the possession of the Lord, wherein the Lord’s tabernacle dwelleth, and take possession among us:  but rebel not against the Lord, nor rebel against us, in building you an altar beside the altar of the Lord our God.  As did our fathers, we have allowed unclean and polluted altars to be built in our homes and our churches; beside the altar of the Lord our God!  II Kings 17:41:  So these nations feared the Lord, and served their graven images, both their children, and their children’s children:  as did their fathers, so do they unto this day. 

          This teaching is not meant condemn God’s people; I love God’s people enough to share the truth with them.  The truth is when we love God we will desire to obey His commandments.  I John 5:2-3:  By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.  For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments:  and his commandments are not grievous.  John 14:15:  If ye love me, keep my commandments.  John 14:21:  He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.  I John 2:3-5:  And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.  He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.  But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected:  hereby know we that we are in him.  We, like the house of Israel, need to get the idols out of our homes and out of our hearts.  Ezekiel 14:7-8:  For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that sojourneth in Israel, which separateth himself from me, and setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to a prophet to enquire of him concerning me; I the Lord will answer him by myself:  And I will set my face against that man, and will make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of my people and ye shall know that I am the Lord.  We are drawn to the things that our heart desires, and if we desire to have so-called religious idols and images more than we desire to follow the commandments of God we will not be able to have a real relationship with God.  Psalm 66:18:  If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.  Having idols in our heart instead of God’s commandments will separate us from God, causing us to fall.  Proverbs 10:8:  The wise in heart will receive commandments:  but a prating fool shall fall.

Have Christians spent many years staying away from the obvious, while being spiritually blind to the unobvious things where Satan and his evil spirits really hide?  Just because something looks spiritual does not mean God’s Spirit (the Holy Spirit) is behind it.  Many Christians have been following the tradition of men and not the Bible.  Colossians 2:8:  Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.  Matthew 15:3, 9:  But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?  But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.  Mark 7:7-9, 13:  Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.  For laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold the tradition of men as the washing of pots and cups:  and many other such things ye do.  And he said unto them, Full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your own tradition.  Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered:  and many such like things do ye. 

As Christians we have been deceived, and according to the Bible seduced.  Mark 13:22:  For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.  Other than something that appears very spiritual what would the devil and his evil spirits hide behind to try and seduce, or deceive, Christians?  Mark 13:22 shows us that Satan will do everything he possibly can to try and deceive the very elect – and do not think he would not use pictures of a false Christ to do it!  Christians are willing participants to Satan’s seduction simply because they lack knowledge in what the Bible says.  They are deceived into thinking Satan will attack them while portraying himself as some ugly, evil looking thing.  But, this is not how God’s people will be seduced; we would never fall for that.  Satan will try to seduce, and deceive Christians by transforming himself into an “angel of light.”  II Corinthians 11:14:  And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.  The angel (image) of light – the ultimate deception – is the picture of Jesus that most Christians want in their homes and churches.  Isaiah 42:17-20:  They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to molten images, ye are our gods.  Hear, ye deaf, and look, ye blind, that ye may see.  Who is blind, but my servant?  Or deaf, as my messenger that I sent?  Who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the Lord’s servant?  Seeing many things, but thou observest not; opening the ears, but he heareth not.  Because of a lack of knowledge many Christians do not know that this image of a man, referred to as Jesus Christ, is really a false god.  It is not Jesus, and Satan knows that!  Satan also knows Christians are spiritually blind to the fact that his [Satan’s] spirit is the one behind these false images, and many others (as we discuss in my other documents).  I pray that throughout this teaching the Lord will open your Spiritual eyes and understanding.  Matthew 13:16:  But blessed are your eyes, for they see:  and your ears, for they hear.  Isaiah 29:18:  And in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity, and out of darkness.

 

          Isaiah 40:18-25:  To whom then will ye liken God?  or what likeness will ye compare unto him?  The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains.  He that is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning workman to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved.  Have ye not known?  have ye not heard?  hath it not been told you from the beginning?  have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?  It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:  That bringeth the princes to nothing:  he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.  Yea, they shall not be planted; yea, they shall not be sown:  yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth:  and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.  To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal?  saith the Holy One.         

 

          Let’s look at Exodus 20:4-5 and Deuteronomy 5:8-9:  Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath or that is in the water under the earth.  Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them:  for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me.  Numbers 14:18:  The Lord is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.  Who are the third and fourth generations?  Due to cursed decoration passed down to us through man's religious traditions we have become these (the third and fourth) generations.  Each generation that has possessed this cursed but heavenly appearing décor has lengthened the chain link.  Jesus Christ bore our sin and guilt on the cross (tree) being made a curse for us; and we in return – after so great a salvation – are disobeying God’s commandments by our religious traditions.  Deuteronomy 21:23:  His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.  Galatians 3:13:  Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us:  for it is written, cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.  Due to our own lack of knowledge, and the lack of knowledge of our fathers before us, we have brought the curse from which God has set us free into our homes – through our cursed objects.  Deuteronomy 7:26:  Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it:  but thou shall utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing.  Joshua 6:18:  And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing lest ye make yourselves accursed when ye take of the accursed thing and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it.  Deuteronomy 23:14:  For the Lord thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee; therefore shall thy camp be holy:  that he see no unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee.  II Corinthians 6:16-17:  And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols?  For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.  Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.  I John 5:21:  Little children, keep yourselves from idols.  Amen.  I Thessalonians 1:9:  For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God.  I Chronicles 16:26 and Psalm 96:5:  For all the gods of the people are idols:  but the Lord made the heavens. 

Our own lack, or in some cases rejection, of knowledge has hurt us and our children spiritually.  Proverbs 28:7, 9-10:  Whoso keepeth the law is a wise son…  He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.  Whoso causeth the righteous to go astray in an evil way, he shall fall himself into his own pit:  but the upright shall have good things in possession.  We keep praying for our children but are hindering our own prayers through our religious traditions.  If we continue to keep our unclean images and idols in our camp (home) – and continue to ignore or even reject the knowledge of God’s Word and His commandments then we will allow Satan to continue his attack against us, and our children.  Rejecting the knowledge of the law of God (which is His Word) will destroy our walk with God.  We have a choice to make – will we, God’s people, accept knowledge or reject it?  Hosea 4:6:  My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge:  because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me:  seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.  If we do not begin to take heed to God’s Word and get rid of our cursed images and idols we in essence declare that we choose to remain guilty of the same iniquity as our forefathers.  Numbers 14:18:  The Lord is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.  Christians tell me, “but I have not had any trouble following the Lord, and I certainly have not worshipped these religious images”.  To the Christians who say these words, I ask you, what about your children, are they having trouble following the Lord?  What if Satan is now putting all his focus on your children because he already has you in disobedience through your religious images and idols?  Worship does not mean you have to bow or pray to something; it means to have love, admiration, devotion and respect for someone or something – which is one reason why people have, and make, man-made religious objects in the first place.

As parents we promote evil visitations when we raise our children in a home decorated with unclean cursed objects, and teach them to do the same!  I Chronicles 16:26 and Psalm 96:5:  For all the gods of the people are idols:  but the Lord made the heavens.  Because of our unclean décor we have given Satan legal right (spiritually) to visit our children, and tempt them to take part in the same pattern of iniquity as our forefathers.  Iniquity and idolatry do go hand in hand.  I Samuel 15:23:  For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.  Due to our religious (yet pagan) imagery our children are being visited by the same evil spirits which tempted our forefathers to sin.  They are being visited with our own, and our ancestors iniquity.  Exodus 34:7 andNumbers 14:18:  The Lord is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.  Jeremiah 32:18:  Thou shewest lovingkindness unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them:  the Great, the Mighty God, the Lord of hosts, is his name.   

Many Christians believe both they and their children can receive only blessings, but scripture reveals that there are stipulations to God’s mercy and His blessings.  Deuteronomy 6:5-9, 13-14:  And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.  And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:  And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.  And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.  And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.  Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him, and shalt swear by his name.  Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you. 

God does show mercy to thousands if they love Him and keep His commandments; however, due to religious tradition we have not been keeping God’s commandments.  Deuteronomy 7:9:  Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations.  Nehemiah 1:5-7:  And said, I beseech thee, O LORD God of heaven, the great and terrible God, that keepeth covenant and mercy for them that love him and observe his commandments:  Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night, for the children of Israel thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel, which we have sinned against thee: both I and my father's house have sinned.  We have dealt very corruptly against thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments, which thou commandedst thy servant Moses.  I John 5:2-3:  By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.  For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments:  and his commandments are not grievous.  John 14:15:  If ye love me, keep my commandments.  John 14:21:  He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.  I John 2:3-5:  And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.  He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.  But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected:  hereby know we that we are in him. 

Since many Christians believe they can receive only blessings they do not obey Exodus 20:3-6 and Deuteronomy 5:7-10:  Thou shalt have no other gods before me.  Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.  Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them:  for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.  John 14:15:  If ye love me, keep my commandments. God’s commandment requires that we love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength – and if we love him this much we will want to keep him commandments.  Deuteronomy 6:5:  And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.  Matthew 22:37-38:  Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.  This is the first and great commandment.  Mark 12:30: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength:  this is the first commandment. 

Very important, and still in affect, is the commandment that we are not to have any other gods before God – including our religious replicas.  Exodus 20:3 and Deuteronomy 5:7:  Thou shalt have no other gods before me.  Other gods include any graven image, or any likeness of anything in heaven above.  Regardless of what we call these (supposed) heavenly images – or who we believe these pagan images represent – the images themselves are nothing more than ‘other gods’.  Psalm 89:6:  For who in the heaven can be compared unto the Lord?  who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the Lord?   

When we truly love God with all our heart we do not want anything that offends him – even if we think it looks heavenly.  Many Christians believe that only evil looking images are an abomination to God so instead they place images in their home that look as if they are from ‘heaven above’.  Isaiah 42:17-20:  They shall be turned back, they shall be greatly ashamed, that trust in graven images, that say to molten images, ye are our gods.  Hear, ye deaf, and look, ye blind, that ye may see.  Who is blind, but my servant?  Or deaf, as my messenger that I sent?  Who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the Lord’s servant?  Seeing many things, but thou observest not; opening the ears, but he heareth not.  These heavenly looking images do not please God – they break His commandments.  These images are rooted in paganism and are an abomination to God; yet many Christians still display them in their homes as decoration.  Deuteronomy 7:26:  Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it:  but thou shall utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing.  Joshua 6:18:  And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing lest ye make yourselves accursed when ye take of the accursed thing and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it.  Deuteronomy 23:14:  For the Lord thy God walketh in the midst of thy camp, to deliver thee, and to give up thine enemies before thee; therefore shall thy camp be holy:  that he see no unclean thing in thee, and turn away from thee.  II Corinthians 6:16-17:  And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols?  For ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.  Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.  I John 5:21:  Little children, keep yourselves from idols.  Amen.  I Thessalonians 1:9:  For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God.  I Chronicles 16:26 and Psalm 96:5:  For all the gods of the people are idols:  but the Lord made the heavens.     

Due to our lack of knowledge about the real pagan history behind these pagan objects many of us are ‘being visited by the iniquity of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of them that hate Him’ – just as Exodus 20:5 and Deuteronomy 5:9 says we will.  Can we truly say we love God, and not obey His Word, or keep His commandments?  John 14:15:  If ye love me, keep my commandments.  John 14:21:  He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.  I John 5:2-3:  By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.  For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments:  and his commandments are not grievous.  I John 2:3-5:  And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.  He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.  But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected:  hereby know we that we are in him.    

Because of the unclean cursed items of decoration in our home we, and our children, are being visited and subtly influenced by evil spirits into committing the same iniquity (sin) as some of our ancestors.  Until somebody stops the pattern in their own generation by learning, teaching, and obeying the truth of God’s Word there is a good chance it will never be taught to the next generation.  John 17:17:  Sanctify them through thy truth:  thy word is truth.  We must begin passing on the truth about God’s Word and His commandments from our own generation to the next – and they in turn must teach their children, until the glorious appearing of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!  Deuteronomy 6:5-7:  And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.  And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:  And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.  I Timothy 6:14:  That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.          

We receive God’s blessings when we ask Jesus Christ into our heart, but what many do not understand is that unclean objects in our homes are blocking us from receiving God’s further blessings.  As Christians, it is our responsibility to remove everything from our home and life that is an abomination to God.  Though we may not have bowed to the unclean cursed items in our homes scripture says the generations who did not bow will still be visited with the iniquity of their ancestors, who did bow.  Just becausewe ourselves have not bowed to these pagan replicas this does not mean we can have these spiritually unclean and cursed images (as many Christians have misinterpreted).  In Exodus 20:4 and Deuteronomy 5:8 it is clear that Christians are not to manufacture, have, or bow; and just because we do not bow does not mean we can disregard this part of the verse.  Exodus 20:4:  Thou shalt not make unto thee (for yourself) any graven image, or any likeness (manufactured images and pictures) of anything that is in heaven above…  Exodus 20:5 and Deuteronomy 5:9:  Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them:  for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me.  Numbers 14:18:  The Lord is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.  John 14:15:  If ye love me, keep my commandments.  John 14:21:  He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.  (Scriptural parenthesis added for emphasis)  Jesus Christ set us free from sin at salvation, and has declared us guiltless, but we do not stay guiltless when we continue sinning – especially now that we know the truth!  

Many Christians say; I am not worshipping these pictures and statues, and therefore they think the commandment in Exodus 20:4-6 and Deuteronomy 5:8-10 does not apply to them.  In scripture (Exodus 20:4-6 and Deuteronomy 5:8-10) the children were “visited with the iniquity of the fathers, unto the third and fourth generations”.  The Hebrew word for ‘iniquity’ in Exodus 20:5 and Deuteronomy 5:9 is “avon, aw-vone’; or avown; perversity, i.e. (moral) evil… mischief, punishment (of iniquity), sin”.  Exodus 34:7 and Numbers 14:18:  The Lord is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.  God says the children will be visited with the iniquity of their forefathers even though the children do not actually bow down to the unclean objects themselves.  Due to the lack of knowledge of God’s Word generations of children grow up and participate in the sins of their forefathers, which begins with displaying unclean and so-called Christian objects in their homes.  By displaying these unclean objects – likenesses of the objects their ancestors may have bowed to – they are reinforcing a spiritual chain of temptation and iniquity.  Evil familiar spirits are encouraged to continue visiting every generation in an effort to reinforce the same pattern of temptations.  These evil familiar spirits are the ones visiting people in their homes, and they are being drawn there through pagan images – or so-called religious décor. 

Our children are paying the price Spiritually because of our ignorance and they too are being tempted by evil spirits to commit our, or our ancestors same sin.  In this generation both we and our children have not been taught the truth about the Word of God, and this has hurt us (and them) Spiritually.  Biblical lack of knowledge has allowed a generational pattern of ‘iniquity’ to continue, and with each generation it is getting increasingly worse.  Just as our ancestors before us we, as Christians, have not put into practice the true Word of God – and this has hurt and even oppressed both us and our children Spiritually.  We have gone along with the ‘traditions of men’ instead of the ‘Word of God’.  We, and our children, will never know God’s truth if we do not start learning and keeping His commandments.  Deuteronomy 5:29:  O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!  I John 2:3-5:  And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.  He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.  But  whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected:  hereby know we that we are in him.

Our fathers before us have followed their own traditions, but we must be the generation that comes apart from this religious tradition.  We must increase in our knowledge of God’s Word, and turn from our traditions, if we are going to teach our children to overcome evil.  It is important – now more than ever before – for Christians to be wise to Satan’s devices or we too will be spiritually deceived.  Just as many have already been deceived through religious tradition.  If our children will ever overcome the evil of this world they must first know the truth of God’s Word.  John 17:17:  Sanctify them through thy truth:  thy word is truth.  Our forefathers never experienced the level of evil that we are seeing in these last days.  Though they went through trials and were still able to overcome (despite their religious traditions and decoration) our children will not be able to do the same if we continue to remain ignorant.  An increase of evil is already consuming this generation, including its Christians.  God is calling us out of our spiritual ignorance.  Acts 17:30:  And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent.  You may think following religious tradition was good enough for your forefathers so it is good enough for you, but following their example is spiritually dangerous.  Ezekiel 20:17-19:  Nevertheless mine eye spared them from destroying them, neither did I make an end of them in the wilderness.  But I said unto their children in the wilderness, Walk ye not in the statutes of your fathers, neither observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols:  I am the Lord your God; walk in my statutes, and keep my judgments, and do them.  Our generation had better stop following after man’s traditions and start following after God!  God will not adjust His Word to fit our traditions.  God will not change the truth of His Word.  To receive God’s promises and freedom we must change our lives to fit His Word, the Bible.  Psalm 89:34:  My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.

The Bible is very clear about telling our children the truth of God’s Word.  Deuteronomy 6:1, 6-9:  Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the judgments, which the Lord your God commanded to teach you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go to possess it.  And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.  And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:   and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.  And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.  Psalm 78:1-8:  Give ear, O my people, to my law:  incline your ears to the words of my mouth.  I will open my mouth in a parable:  I will utter dark sayings of old:  Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.  We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done.  For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make known to their children:  That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children:  That they might set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments:  And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not stedfast with God.  Psalm 71:17-18:  O God, thou hast taught me from my youth:  and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works.  Now also when I am old and greyheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come.  Psalm 145:4:  One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.  

Our children will Spiritually suffer the consequences of what we do not teach them!  In II Kings Chapter 22 we read about Josiah a young boy who became King at 8 years of age.  Josiah was nearly destroyed because of what His father did not teach him concerning God’s laws and commandments.  God teaches us in His Word that we are to love and obey Him with all our heart, and teach our children to do the same.  Yet, Josiah was not taught.  He did not realize how strongly God felt against the pagan abominations and practices that literally surrounded him – strong enough that God was about to pour out His wrath.  II Chronicles 34:25:  Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore my wrath shall be poured out upon this place, and shall not be quenched.  When Josiah finally heard the book of the law, which was read to him by Shaphan the scribe, he tore his clothes as a symbol of his grief.  II Kings 22:11:  And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the book of the law, that he rent (tore) his clothes.  Afterward, Josiah sent Hilkiah the priest to Huldah the prophetess and she enquired of the Lord for him (Josiah).  II Kings 22:13:  Go ye, enquire of the Lord for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that is found:  for great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not hearkened unto the words of this book, to do according unto all which is written concerning us.  II Chronicles 34:22-24:  And Hilkiah, and they that the king had appointed, went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvath, the son of Hasrah, keeper of the wardrobe; (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the college:) and they spake to her to the effect.  And she answered them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Tell ye the man that sent you to me, Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, even all the curses that are written in the book which they have read before the King of Judah. 

If you read II Kings Chapters 22 & 23 and II Chronicles Chapter 34 you will see how Josiah completely destroyed all the idolatrous images!  He also broke down the houses of the sodomites – homosexuals.  Josiah was obedient to God’s Word (as soon as he learned the truth), but he nearly suffered the consequences of what his father had not taught him.  When Josiah heard God’s Word he immediately humbled himself and repented for thedisobedience of the people (including his own father’s disobedience) – and God heard Josiah.  After Josiah repented God sent word to Josiah, through Hulda the prophetess, by Hilkiah the priest.  II Chronicles 34:26-27:  And as for the king of Judah, who sent you to enquire of the Lord, so shall ye say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel concerning the words which thu hast heard; Because thine heart was tender, and thou didst humble thyself before God, when thou heardest his words against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, and humbledst thyself before me, and didst rend thy clothes, and weep before me; I have even heard thee also, saith the Lord.  II Kings 22:19-20:  Because thine heart was tender, and thou has humbled thyself before the Lord, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and has rent thy clothes, and wept before me; I also have heard thee, saith the Lord.  Behold therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace, and thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place.  And they brought the king word again.  Notice that God did not delay his wrath because Josiah did not know the book of the law.  God delayed His wrath only when Josiah repented for not knowing and obeying God’s law.  Josiah was living among every abomination that God’s Word warns against, and although Josiah did not know what God’s law said he still nearly suffered the consequences for what his father had not taught him.  Are we, or our children, suffering the consequences of what our own parents did not teach us concerning God’s Word?  Because of our lack of knowledge many of our children are suffering from bondage to repeated sin?  Hosea 4:6:  My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge:  because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me:  seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.  We have never had easier access to the Bible than what we have today so there is no excuse for not knowing or seeking after the truth in God’s Word!     

Many Christians try and use the following scriptures in II Chronicles, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel to say that children cannot reconnect or be visited by the iniquity (same sin as) their forefathers.  However, these scriptures say that the children will not directly die or Hebrew be slain for their ancestors iniquities (sins); but it says nothing about being visited by, or repeating their sin.  II Chronicles 25:4:  But he slew not their children, but did as it is written in the law in the book of Moses, where the Lord commanded, saying, The fathers shall not die for the children, neither shall the children die for the fathers, but every man shall die for his own sin.  Jeremiah 31:30:  But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge.  Ezekiel 18:2-4, 20:  What mean ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge?  As I live, saith the Lord GOD, ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in Israel.  Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die.  The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.  The scriptures in II Chronicles, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel talk about physical death – not spiritual visitation.  What many Christians do not understand is that the commandment in Exodus 20:4-6 and Deuteronomy 5:8-10 does not say that the children will die or be slain for the iniquity of the fathers but this commandment says they will be “visited with the iniquity of the fathers”.  This commandment talks about evil spiritual visitation, not physical death.  Christians cannot use II Chronicles, Jeremiah, or Ezekiel to try and invalidate the commandment in Exodus 20:4-6 and Deuteronomy 5:8-10.  Being visited with the iniquity of our ancestors does not mean we will physically die or be slain for their sins; but it means the same evil pattern of temptation, or same evil spirits, will visit our lives and tempt us to repeat or re-connect the same type of sins that our ancestors committed.  Though we may not die [directly] or be slain for their sins, if we repeat their sins we may die for the sins we have committed (sins which may be very similar to theirs).  We will die spiritually and physically because they did not teach us the true word of God – which is why we, and they, are in bondage!  They did not teach us to turn from man-made idols but taught us to change the names of them, creating evil doorways in our life.  Ezekiel 18:30-32:  Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD.  Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.  Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit:  for why will ye die, O house of Israel?  For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord GOD:  wherefore turn yourselves, and live ye.    

Once we have asked God’s Son, Jesus Christ, into our heart it is our responsibility to begin seeking the truth of God’s Word; not just to follow man’s religious traditions.  When a Christian sincerely seeks God’s truth they will desire to obey His laws and commandments.  But, because many Christians are not earnestly reading God’s Word (His law), and hiding it in their heart, they are not following His truth.  Psalm 119:11:  Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.  Instead of reading their Bibles Christians are following the traditions of men – men like their religious ancestors.  Due to our own lack of knowledge about God’s Word and His commandments cursed objects have been passed down to us through religious tradition, allowing many Christians to be visited with the iniquity of their ancestors.  Exactly what God warns in Exodus 20:4-6 and Deuteronomy 5:8-10.  It is because many Christians do not know God’s truth that they continue to allow the same patterns of temptation into their life as their ancestors – even though they are saved.  To some, in each generation, continual temptation to sin becomes so overwhelming it causes bondage (spiritual imprisonment) – yes, even after salvation their mind, will, and emotions (soul) seem imprisoned.  Psalm 142:7:  Bring my soul out of prison, that I may praise thy name…  If Christians continue living in spiritual ignorance they, and their children, will Spiritually suffer!  The family will continue to follow the same pattern of iniquity (sin), from generation to generation, being visited by the same evil unclean spirits!  It is imperative after salvation that we throw away, or destroy, any unclean cursed items in our homes – items that are spiritually reinforcing evil visitations.  When we receive Jesus Christ as our Savior we cannot continue to display cursed items in our homes, living again with the curse from which Jesus had set us free. 

By using cursed items in our home to gain his entrance, Satan will try and reconstruct the same spiritual blueprint of iniquity in our life that he had in our ancestors.  He will try and tempt us, and our children, into committing the same type of sins as our ancestors, and to some the temptation to repeat ancestral sins will be overwhelming.  Like our parents before us, we are responsible when we do not teach our children the truth about God’s Word and His Commandments, and though our children will not die or be slain for our sins they may follow our same sinful pattern and may die for their own sins spiritually and physically!  Proverbs 19:16:  He that keepeth the commandment keepeth his own soul; but he that despiseth his ways shall die.  A generational pattern of iniquity (which is a generational pattern of sin) is not a physical death for what our ancestors have done, it is evil spiritual visitation for what they have not done – they have not taught us the truth!  The truth is, as Christians, we allow evil spiritual visitation when we have cursed objects in our homes, and this evil visitation can result in the re-connection of a generational pattern of iniquity – in our life, and our children’s lives.  Resulting in our children being Spiritually lost throughout eternity.  Deuteronomy 7:26:  Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it:  but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing.  Many of our cursed objects or heirlooms are passed down from generation to generation – however this is not always the case, because any cursed object will have the same spiritual affect regardless of where, or who, it comes from!  Hosea 4:6:  My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge:  because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me:  seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.

If we do not teach our children the true wisdom and knowledge that comes from God’s Word they will be led down the wrong path, following the way of the fools that despise and refuse to accept the wisdom and knowledge of God.  Proverbs 1:20-33:  Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets:  She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates:  in the city she uttereth her words, saying; How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity?  And the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge?  Turn you at my reproof:  Behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.  Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; But ye have set at naught all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.  Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:  For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord:  They would none of my counsel:  they despised all my reproof.  Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.  For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them.  But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.  I know this seems harsh, but it is God’s Word!  However, there is another side to this.  Look at the following scripture and see what a blessing the wisdom and knowledge of God can be to us, and our children.  Proverbs 2:1-12:  My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.  For the Lord giveth wisdom:  out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.  He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous:  he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.  He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.  Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.  Then wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul; Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:  To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh forward things.  Proverbs 3:1-2:  My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments:  For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee.  Praise the Lord!  These are the blessings that we need to leave for our children, the wisdom and knowledge of God’s Word the Bible.  We must teach our children how to pick up their Bible in their hand and read it with their eyes!  Deuteronomy 6:8:  And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. 

Psalm 145:4:  One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.  We all have access to God’s Word and are without excuse, especially as parents, if we do not to teach our children the knowledge of the truth.  Hebrews 10:26:  For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins.

The commandments say in Exodus 20:5 and Deuteronomy 5:9 that our children will be …visited with the iniquity of the fathers unto the third and fourth generations.  If we do not heed God’s law, which is His Word, our Children may be forgotten of the Lord.  Hosea 4:6:  My people are destroyed for a lack of knowledge:  because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me:  seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.  I know that God’s Word says in Hebrews 13:5 that He will never leave nor forsake us but by our own disobedience to His commandments we are the ones who are forsaking Him! 

Using our family’s generational pattern of iniquity (sin) as his guide, Satan knows how to tempt us individually.  If a particular sin(s) worked with our ancestors it will probably work for us, or our children, because Satan uses past generations as his guideline of temptation.  Satan assigns his evil spirits, following that same guideline, to try and tempt our entire bloodline.  The evil spirit(s) assigned to us and our future generations (because of the generational pattern of iniquity of our previous generations) are what the Bible calls ‘familiar spirits’.  These evil spirits are ‘familiar’ with our family’s history of sin.  In the Thesaurus the word ‘familiar’ is listed under “demon”.  Our children may not necessarily die a physical death for our sin, but they will not be able to stop sinning if we do not teach them the truth of God’s Word.  They in turn may die for their own sin.  Being unable to resist the temptation to sin they will be fair game for Satan.  The end result of continued sin is spiritual death.  Spiritual death is an eternity without God.  As Christians, an important first step in breaking any re-connection to a generational pattern of sin (iniquity) is to recognize and teach our children what is, in fact, sin – and what the generational re-connectors are to that sin.  For prayers of repentance, and a list of practices or items [re-connectors], see my document called ‘lists and prayers’.

Satan wants to keep us blind to his devices.  He does not want Christians to know the truth.  Jeremiah 5:21:  Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not.  Isaiah 42:18-20:  Hear, ye deaf, and look, ye blind, that ye may see.  Who is blind, but my servant?  Or deaf, as my messenger that I sent?  Who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the Lord’s servant?  Seeing many things, but thou observest not; opening the ears, but he heareth not.  As Christians, we must open our Spiritual eyes to the truth by reading and receiving the knowledge and wisdom that comes from God’s Word.  John 17:17:  Sanctify them through thy truth:  thy word is truth.  

God left us His Word (the Bible) as our Spiritual guideline to stand against the wiles of the devil. As Christian parents we must clean out our homes and teach our children the truth of God’s Word.  Deuteronomy 6:6-9:  And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:  And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.  And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.  And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.  Deuteronomy 11:18-19:  Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes.  And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.  And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates.  Psalm 71:17-18:  O God, thou hast taught me from my youth:  and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works.  Now also when I am old and greyheaded, O God, forsake me not; until I have shewed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come.  Psalm 145:4:  One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.  Psalm 115:11:  Ye that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord:  he is their help and their shield.  Deuteronomy 5:29:  O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!

 

          Isaiah 61:1-4 (also Luke 4:18-19):  The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.  And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations. 

 

 

***

 

          Please pray:  “Father God, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, I confess to you my sin of rejecting you (by not following your commandments).  I also ask that you would forgive my family for rejecting you or teaching me to do the same.  I ask forgiveness for the abominations I have committed, including the abominations I have brought into my home, because I did not know the truth about your Word (the Bible).  I apply the blood of your Only Begotten Son Jesus Christ to my life and the lives of all present and future generations in my family.  I ask you to destroy all evil assignments against us.  In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, I also ask you to stop and destroy every evil assignment against my children on my spouse (or ex-spouse’s) side of the family.  Through my faith in Jesus Christ I declare that all evil assignments against my generation and future generations have been cancelled.  It is my prayer that from this day forward my entire family will make a decision to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and never reject Him or His commandments!  Joshua 24:15:  And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.  Amen.”