New Year’s Message from the Spiritual Leader
CHURCH OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST IN THE WORLD THE TOCOISTS Revived on July 25, 1949, By His Holiness Prophet Simão Gonçalves Toco OFFICE OF THE SPIRITUAL LEADER DEPARTMENT OF DOCUMENTATION AND PUBLICATION LITERARY PRODUCTION NEW YEAR’S MESSAGE “SPECIAL” PRONOUNCEMENTS OF THE SON OF MAN – THE CHRIST OF THE LIVING GOD, HIS HOLINESS THE PROPHET SIMÃO GONÇALVES TOCO “FATHER MAYAMONA” TO THE CHURCH, THE ANGOLAN NATION, AFRICA, AND THE WORLD Greetings and Reflections on the Past Year Beloved members of the Body of the 24 Elders, Esteemed members of the Episcopate, Your Most Reverend Auxiliary Bishops, Distinguished members of the Women’s Central Council, Distinguished members of the Youth and Children’s Central Council, Illustrious Guests, Daughters and sons of God! I want, on behalf of the Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the World and in my own personal name, to thank from the bottom of my spirit God and Father of glory, for the way He knew how to protect us, during the 365 days, against the various challenges that the contemporary world placed before us day after day. It would be ungrateful on my part and, at the same time, imprudent, if I did not recognize His power and glory that made the one who was insignificant in the eyes of the world, transforming him into the brightest star and the foremost man that humanity has ever known by making him sit on the throne, placing him among the great and in the midst of the kings of this world, I Samuel 2:8. The year 0010 of the Millennium of Christ was marked by memorable events that elevated the Church’s good name and prestige. Many noteworthy facts took place in the period of reference, standing out among the many, the pilgrimage to the Holy City of “Ntaya” Maquela do Zombo, on the occasion of the celebrations of the ninety-second birthday of the Founder of Tocoism, on February 24, 0010, in which the world observed the commotion of the one who was, is, and will forever be the Prophet Simão Gonçalves Toco, dead in the flesh, but living in spirit, working and guiding his Church, so that triumphantly it can proceed with its mission. God, in His mission to save the world, to rescue man from sin, and guide him back to paradise, has been using men who interpret and make His designs known to the world. Thus, it has been since the time of the Prophets and Patriarchs, passing through our Lord Jesus Christ, his Disciples and Apostles, up to the present day, thus giving substance to what is written in the book of the great preacher where one can read: “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” I was citing Ecclesiastes 1:9. Beloved members of the Body of the 24 Elders, Esteemed members of the Episcopate, Your Most Reverend Auxiliary Bishops, Distinguished members of the Women’s Central Council, Distinguished members of the Youth and Children’s Central Council, Illustrious Guests, Daughters and sons of God! I made this brief foray so that the spiritual phenomena that surround us and that we live in today can be easily understood. God is indeed the same God as always. He is the one who took the people of Israel out of slavery in Egypt through Moses, He is the same who spoke to the Prophets, He is the one who protected Daniel in the lions’ den, and the same who spoke to Abraham, He is the one who gave His only Son to save humanity and He is the same who speaks with us today. In an analogy to the biblical world and making a parallel to the mission of the Prophet Moses, we affirm with propriety and conviction that, just as Aaron had Moses for God and Moses had Aaron for a mouth, so it is today that Simão Toco has Afonso Nunes for a mouth and the latter has Simão Gonçalves Toco for God who transmits to him what comes from God, and it is through him that until today he has received instructions from God the Creator of Heaven and Earth. This may seem like madness, but it is a pure reality. If we admit and believe that the God who spoke with Moses in the burning bush is the same God of our days, and He IS immutable, just as He spoke in Aaron, through Moses, using Aaron’s mouth to speak to the people, we must admit the event that I am describing to you, Exodus 4:15-16. Today, I spoke a little about the relationship between Bishop Afonso Nunes and Master Simão Gonçalves Toco. Next time, it is important that I speak much more about the matter, although I recognize its complexity in human and perhaps scientific vision, but which, however, encourages me with the certainty that it will be good for those who believe in the immutability of God and His Saints. Beloved members of the Body of the 24 Elders, Esteemed members of the Episcopate, Your Most Reverend Auxiliary Bishops, Distinguished members of the Women’s Central Council, Distinguished members of the Youth and Children’s Central Council, Illustrious Guests, Daughters and sons of God! Achievements and Administrative Advancements As for the year that has ended, as I said before, it was very fruitful for us, although Satan did not stop trying to create constant disturbances. But our God always knew how to guarantee His Church resounding victories. We successfully held the III Congress, which laid the foundations for the development of the Church in the five years 0010/0015; we trained 200 Pastors from various Parishes in Angola and abroad; we created favorable spiritual and moral conditions so that the Leadership emerging from the III Congress could fit into the new work philosophy. We managed to rescue and grant the Church and its Founding Leader the respect and dignity that had long been lost. For the first time in the