By Rick Becker 8 February 2018
The next “Its Time” national prayer meeting featuring Angus Buchan will take place on 24 March in Mitchells Plain, Cape Town. In this podcast we reviewed Buchan’s call to prayer for the “Its Time” meeting in Bloemfontein, highlighting his New Apostolic Reformation influences and other errors in his teaching. Buchan has been busy generating hype around his upcoming event, as well as claiming to hear from God as to why the “taps have run dry” in Cape Town. Apparently God is “angry with Cape Town” – how other cities in South Africa have appeased God remains a mystery.
On the 6th of February, Buchan preached this message in Cape Town. We examine some of the statements in his message.
Buchan: “There’s one thing that’s going to hold back the hand of God over Cape Town, that’s unbelief.”
What does the hand of God over Cape Town look like? Is Buchan looking for an outward righteousness in the city? Presumably, “unbelief” is one of the reasons the taps will run dry in Cape Town. Does this mean that if we believe God will send rain? If so, why does God send rain on the “unjust” – “For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the UNJUST” Matt 5:45
“In past generations he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways. Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness” Acts 14:16-17
Buchan: “Pastors, its a prayer meeting and you need to be there…it’s going to be very embarrassing for you on Sunday morning when they say where were you?”
Manipulation and guilt are hardly the means to employ in order to further a godly agenda. We have seen Buchan and many other church leaders employ this strategy time and again. It’s a trait of the heavy shepherding movement, a means to control the naive and biblically illiterate.
Buchan: “We are not desperate for water, we are desperate for Jesus”
Believers already have Christ dwelling within them, how are they desperate for Jesus? The unsaved are unsaved because they are not desperate for Jesus.
Buchan reflects on “Its Time” in Bloemfontein, noting that his son is a statistician and worked out that the 450 000 motor cars at the event would have had to have parked at a rate of seventeen per second. Then the people had to walk for over a kilometer, and they were all seated before Buchan started to speak. In Buchan’s world God speaks through the weather, a dustdevil on a dry plain, a spot of rain, a gentle breeze – all are signs that God is present and working some sort of miracle. Parking 450 00 cars in Bloemfontein does not escape Buchan: ”you know something, GOD did it…they were all seated before I started speaking”
Its no small feat to park 450 000 cars in an orderly fashion – give credit to the organisers, but lets not spiritualise everything
On the advertising for the Cape Town event, Buchan uses one man’s generosity to justify the event as being ordained by God.
Buchan: “They’ve unveiled the biggest banner you’ve ever seen in your life in Pretoria, The banner cost R320 000, one man picked up the tab. This is a God thing man”
Who are we to argue with a direct revelation from God anyway.
Buchan: “After Bloemfontein I said Lord that’s enough for me, He said no – one more…So who invited me, the NG – no, the AGS – no, the Charismatics – no, the Pentecostals – no, so who invited me to come to your city – Jesus , I’m telling you the truth, Jesus invited me”
Now after establishing himself as God’s voice for all national prayer events in South Africa, Buchan uses his authority to drive home his appeal:
Buchan: “You better be there, I’m not asking you, I’m telling you…pastor, you better be there, because if you don’t you might lose your job on Monday morning (laughter)”
Buchan: “the rains coming, when we repent, tell that to the newspaper man, and if you dont repent, listen to me, its not coming”
Apparently there is rain forecast for tomorrow night, does that mean some believers have already repented and God is enticing further repentance by giving us some relief? Does it mean we can cancel the event because all have already repented? Does it mean that in the past few weeks some have come to salvation and God is pleased with them but Christians have not yet repented and so the dams will only be filled after all repent? By “when we repent” does Buchan mean every single person in Cape Town, just believers or just unbelievers? Do you see the rabbit trail he has created with his unbiblical statements? Perhaps he clears things up in his next statement.
Buchan: “What’s holding him back in Cape Town is YOUR unbelief…I’m talking about God’s people, “if my people” Look at my hands, can you see them, I’ve got no blood on my hands, see, if I die today no blood, I hope you can say the same.”
Wrong!!!! As we previously stated, Buchan is spiritualising the water crisis. There are various factors that are contributing to the water shortage: low rainfall, abuse of resources, mismanagement, failure to maintain infrastructure etc. What he means by having no blood on his hands, we cannot speculate.
Buchan is now going to deliver a phrase that many of us have heard before. It’s common in New Apostolic Reformation and Charismatic circles. This phrase is the clincher, it will make the weak and ignorant pliable in the hands of the accuser. Twenty five years ago, a “prophetess” used this phrase in order to intimidate me, all it did was spur me on to find truth in scripture, and not an experience.
Buchan: “YOU TURN YOUR BACK ON THIS MOVE OF GOD AND YOU’LL ANSWER TO GOD”
What move of God? We have been hearing about new moves of God and revivals for the past thirty years and all that is happened in the visible church is increasing deception and apostasy – exactly as scripture predicts! Angus Buchan’s New Apostolic Reformation and Dominion theology teachings are NOT a move of God, instead, they are part of the greatest deception in the visible church today.
Buchan: “You say Angus, you’re coming on it heavy, very heavy! I don’t want anything from you, I just want God to say to you one day well done, good and faithful servant”
If we want God to say that then we need to be like the Bereans and search the scriptures to test what is being taught. If we want God to say that we need to stop following men and women who claim to have direct revelation from God, yet what they teach contradicts scripture. If we want God to say that we must be prepared to be that lone and unpopular voice that speaks out against popular voices that are spreading confusion and error in the church.
Buchan: “God is coming to visit you in Mitchells Plain..I’ve got a man coming from Canada, especially for this meeting for one day, he want’s to see the Red Sea part again”
The man could come from Mars, the only separation of the sea he will find is at Cape Point, where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet. God will visit those who come to him in repentance and faith, you don’t have to be in Mitchells Plain on that day for God’s so called visitation.
Buchan: “The tap has been turned off because God want’s your attention”
If this is how God gets the attention of cities, then all cities should have dry taps – or are Capetonians the worst sinners in South Africa? Buchan is stuck in the Old Testament, Cape Town is not in a covenant with God. Jesus addressed this concept of a particular city being punished due to the sins of it’s people:
“There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” Luke 13: 1 -5
Buchan: “God is coming into your presence, he’s not coming to any other part of this country, he’s coming here”
Nonsense!!! This is the kind of statement that causes thousands of ignorant and gullible people to flock to an event because they are seeking experiences and signs, exactly what scripture warns against.
Implying that people will be saved at the event (and they may as God is gracious), Angus said “they will get saved when they see the power of God”
People get saved when the Holy Spirit is working in their hearts, when they hear and believe the gospel, when they aware of their current sinful condition and need for a saviour. We know that Buchan can interpret the smallest natural phenomena or even good parking as a sign from God, so he will find something at Cape Town’s event to ascribe to the supernatural, even if is just the numbers in attendance.
Buchan: “next years an election, everything’s hanging in the balance, and it all comes back to Cape Town, how many prophecies have we heard over the last ten years about revival starting in Cape Town…history in the making, you cannot afford not to be there…there’s people coming from all over, they don’t need water but they want to see God moving”
Another claim that one of his meetings will be historic. It’s a tragedy to witness a man who started well, who is still bold in calling out sin, who is clearly passionate about God, succumb to bad theology and fanciful claims. Pray for Angus Buchan, clearly here is a man willing to serve God, but has sadly been sidetracked by Charismania, experiences, stories and signs. Pray that God may open his eyes to the deceptive teachings of the New Apostolic Reformation and that he may in fact become a voice that exposes this deception in the church.