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Q1. In Exodus 20:5, it states, "you shall not bow down to them nor
serve them. For I the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the
iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth
generations of those who hate Me".

On the other hand in Ezekiel 18:20, it states, "The soul who sins
shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father, nor the
father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous
shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon
himself".

There appears to be a contradiction between the two verses quoted
above.

1. It seems that God is not fair in imposing judgement on the children
for the iniquities of their forefathers. Each generation should only
be held responsible for their own sins. [ref. Exodus 20:5].

2. Looking at the man's present sin condition, it is undoubted that we
have inherited Adam's sin. But this would contradict Ezekiel 18:20
since "the son shall not bear the guilt of the father".

How do we reconcile the two verses. Appreciate your comments on the
matter.

A1. The Scriptures must be interpreted in the context of the
revelation at Moses' time. Note the progression from Exodus 20:5 to
Ezekiel 18:20. The first important thing to note is that the language
of the Old Testament has a permissive tense - allow the iniquity to be
visited, etc. - and there are many places in the OT where the language
seems to blame God as the source of evil (the devil was not exposed
yet in the NT sense). The second is the fact that as revelation
progresses and human society is ready to progress from the law
(schoolmaster) to grace (sonship in Christ), there is also a
progressive revelation of God the Father which culminate in the full
revelation in Christ. Even David had some understanding of the
revelation of grace when he declared Blessed are those whose
iniquities are (Romans 4:7,8). The third is that the passing on of
iniquities is more consequences (which is true in that one generation
does affect the next and so forth) rather than judgment. It can be
seen as a positive aspect in that consequences cannot go beyond the
fourth generation plus if the generation within the 2nd to 4th
repents, the consequences can be removed based on grace.

Q2. Regarding your third point that the iniquities are more of
consequences. Does it mean that  there is no such thing as
generational curses?  In deliverance ministry, it is often required of
the person seeking deliverance to repent/confess against generational
curses of their forefathers. Is this step necessary since each
generation is reponsible for his own sin?

A2: In regard to your question, 2 Corinthians 5:17 - ALL things have
passed away - is the answer to all the wrong theology of generational
curses. We receive in accordance to what we believe. If people believe
that it still applies to them, it will be so to them and they have to
live at that level seeking to still overcome those curses. It is
something akin to the question of eating idol food, keeping the
religious Sabbath law, eating of vegetables (Romans 14:1-12; 1
Corinthians 8:1-13); those whose conscience and faith who still
believes it will affect them, will be affected but those whose faith
and revelation know that an idol is nothing and that Christ has
redeemed us from all these ceremonial laws, will be free from them.

www.eaglevision.com.my

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Q1.  The subject of deliverance is grossly misunderstood in
Christendom and I too am not fully established in it. In one of your
previous responses you said that some Christians are bogged down by
the doctrine of generational curses and end up wasting their energies
in fighting these "curses."  You said that one must stand on 2
Corinthians 5:17 and they would be totally free from such curses. Does
this apply to every generational sin/weakness?

Yes, if they have the faith level and teaching level to do so. It is
like the understanding about eating vegetables (Romans 14) and eating
of idol food in the markets (1 Corinthians 8 - although there is also
an area where one does not do it because it involves false worship - 1
Corinthians 10:20, 21). Some of the methodology of helping people from
generational curses have NO NEW TESTAMENT examples or Scriptural
basis. The closest that one can find is in Acts 8 where Simeon the
former magician now converted still had the 'root of bitterness' in
him (he would be a prime example of one who had a past of idolatry,
witchcraft, magic) and he was told to 'repent' rather than to
'renounce generational curses.' Like Romans 14:23 says, what is not of
faith is sin. When a person is taught or from his background believes
that eating vegetables enhances his spirituality or keeping a certain
day a week enhances their spirituality, then it does for them for they
would receive according to their level of faith. If a person is taught
that their problems came from generational curses (rather than a lack
of faith or knowledge) or has a culture that believes that such can
continue to cause problems, then the person would receive according to
what they believe - and needs to be freed accordingly. The methodology
is always adapted to the person's faith level. At times Jesus wanted
to lay hands and heal but a greater faith level (Luke 7:9) changes the
methodology. The key principle is this 'the method of healing or
deliverance or reception of any promises of God is always dependent on
the faith level of the recipient.'

Q2.  I will create a little scenario to illustrate my point (it is not
a total fabrication of my mind).  A young man in a family dedicated to
Satan gets born-again.  His siblings are into occultism.  Practising
witchcraft has been a family tradition and the family is an
established "principality" in a certain territory.

a)      If this young man stands on 2 Corinthians 5:17 will this
suffice?

Faith grows according to Romans 10:17. The person must not just be
taught 2 Corinthians 5:17 (it can be used as a base) but must also be
taught his authority as a son of God and the indwelling of the Holy
Spirit - and anything else that would helped him grow in faith. The
right teaching is very important. Like everything else in life, it
might take time before the teaching holds in his heart and become
manifestedly true in reality as he faith takes hold of the revelation.
Sometimes, constant teaching is needed before faith understands and
takes hold of the revelation.

b)      Does he need to engage in spiritual warfare to uproot the
witchcraft altars in his family like Josiah?

If he has faith, he can rest in the finished work of Christ for him.
Jesus has conquered satan and all his prinicpalities (Hebrews 2:14,
15; Colossians 2:15), he can receive the love of Jesus and become MORE
than a conqueror (Romans 8:37). If he believes it and receives it as
Scripture says, than 2 Corinthians 5:17 works for him and he needs to
do nothing else. If in his mind he assents but within his heart he
still feels that he needs to renounce, then doing so might help
release his faith at his level and bring some relief to him. But in
the end for permanent walk of authority and power, he would still
ultimately need the revelation of WHO Jesus is, WHAT Jesus has done,
and WHO HE IS IN CHRIST.

c)      Considering that his forefathers and his family members have
been bewitching people will God bring judgment on his family?  If yes,
what must he do?

It does not matter what the family has done, each one in the NT only
answers for his own sin. In the NT, God deals with both the personal
sin and the inherited sin nature at the cross of calvary. Of course,
where the consequences of sin of the forefathers still hurt people,
the release of forgiveness is an important part of releasing the love
of God into the situation.