Kehila News Israel (KNI) reports with heavy hearts that Antony Simon, pastor of Voice in the Wilderness, Kol Korei BaMidbar, congregation in Jerusalem, has died. Simon was killed when hit by a car on May 29 while leading a mission trip in Northern Iraq (Kurdistan). He leaves behind his wife, Donna, and their children Josh, Yoel and Rachel. He was 53.
Pastor Antony was born in England to Jewish parents. At the age of 18 he came to faith in Yeshua and, as he wrote in his testimony. He rejoiced saying: “Now I can say like David, ‘I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever’ Psalm 23:6.”
Tony, as his friends knew him, was a passionate evangelist.
“Tony was always out telling people about Jesus. He spent hours a week out on the streets witnessing to lost souls,” one of his friends, journalist Paul Calvert, told KNI.
“Tony was a good friend whom I have known for many years,” Calvert said. “I will remember him as having a passion for the Bible. If I had a difficult theological question I knew I could turn to him for an answer that was rooted in the word of God. He will be missed in his congregation and missed on the streets of Jerusalem. We had lots of fun together.”
Judy Pex who, together with her husband John, opened The Shelter Hostel in Eilat, also knew Simon.
“Tony will always be remembered as a faithful brother to the Lord’s calling not only in Jerusalem but to regions beyond and all over the Middle East,” she told us.
“He came a number of times with teams to evangelize in Eilat,” Pex continued. “I especially remember one time when I was sitting at a falafel stand on the main street in Eilat with another brother in the Lord and one of his fellow university students. As we were talking Tony passed by with a few of his friends and added words of encouragement urging, as he always did, for this young Israeli woman to enter the Kingdom. His enthusiasm left a sweet aroma behind even as he continued walking.”
“As all other people who knew Tony, I can also say that his, for us, premature promotion to glory, is a tremendous loss on a personal level and for the whole Body of the Messiah. But thank God we can find comfort knowing that all our days are numbered and God has a plan even for this accident and tragedy,” Pex said.
While leading a congregation in Jerusalem, most recently Pastor Antony was taking teams out to Kurdistan, bringing food and Bibles and the Good News of the Gospel mainly to Muslim Kurdish Syrian refugees.
Kurdistan was the country where he died, serving the Lord.
His last post on Facebook reads: “I have two bags full; 50 KILOs of audio bibles; 500 that I am taking with me to IRAQ. I leave in less than 30 hours for 10 days. We will be distributing food and cleaning materials and bibles, audio bibles and children’s bibles and calendars.”
Simon encouraged his congregation and anyone that would listen “to be active in sharing the Gospel.”
“It really is true that if anyone leaves this life without having come to the Lord Jesus through repentance and faith, he or she will go to hell,” he wrote. “We as Christians should not be ashamed of the Gospel. We have a wonderful message to share, and that message truly is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who will believe. We cannot be silent about this message; we must tell it to the people God brings into our lives.”
A crowdfunding page has been established to raise support for his family.
“Whoever finds their life will lose it,
and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.”
Matthew 10:39