Based on the book entitled:
"WITH YOUR PILLAR OF FIRE AMONG ICE MOUNTAINS"



Born in Torokszentmiklos on 16 October 1917.

        "In silence, in my solitude I recalled how merciful God was towards me throughout my life. When I was 5 years old, my Mother ran to the pharmacy. The doctor said there is no point in buying it, but he prescribes it anyway. The child will die before he could take it. But God kept me alive through the long years of my life.

The smaller part was that He kept my body alive.
The bigger one was that - beside having an unbeliever mother and father - at the age of 5, He instilled in my heart already to look for Him.

        Therefore, I hid myself behind stacks in the stable While in our yard there usually was a huge horse sale, since. Some horse-dealers were renting our yard. I hid myself in behind the stack of straw, and was seaking God, and was calling on Him. My father laughed at me while My mother could not react, as she was not a believer ay that time either. However, later My mother - crushed by a lot of suffering - got saved. But My father eventually shot himself. Still, in my heart there was a voice I had to answer to." - Confessed J.Z.

Then, in 1925 he went to Holland.
In 1927 his parents got divorced, and his father killed himself. At this time, a teacher took him in for 6 months.
Between 1928 and 31 he was raised in a Baptist Orphanage in Budapest.
Between 1931 and 35 his godfather took care of him.

In 1936 he passed the final exam in a grammar school.
In 1936 the Upper-Hungary Circle of Friends.
In 1937 he was admitted to the Debrecen Theology.
In 1941 he became an assistant minister and a member of Bethany in Debrecen.
Between 1942 and 43 he worked as an assistant minister in Munkacs.
Between 1939 and 43 he got engaged. His fiancée, Miss Margit Dobos became the mother of orphans in Debrecen, influenced by George Müller's report on his orphanage; they realized together.
"A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in this holy dwelling." (Psalm 68:5)
In 1943 he became a Sub-Carpathian mission pastor.
In 1943 he married Miss Margit Dobos.
In 1944 he did not receive his salary any longer in Encsencs where he worked as an assistant minister. For, the Russians took over Ukraine, therefore in 1945 he moved to Mezögecse.

While there, he wrote a letter to Stalin, with one of his pastor companions through the KGB.

The LETTER TO STALIN read:

"Great Stalin! God broke the German fascism by the blood of many Russians and sons of other peoples. Yet, you claimed the glory for the victory to yourself. In everything you put yourself in the place of God. Beside the huge wheat-fields, on big boards, the boastful inscription boosted: Without God and prayer, but with artificial fertilizer and tractor! Because of this the Lord is going to humiliate you, just like He humiliated King Nebuchadnezzar. Your own children are going to condemn you. Examine yourself, and give the glory to the Holy God! This will also be for the good of your people. One night the prideful Belteshazzar, together with his empire, was lost."

Jozsef Zimanyi and Barna Horkay

YEARS OF CAPTIVITY

On 13 October 1947 he was very shocked reading Hoseas 2:19-23. He was sure that a big trial was coming into his life. It said:
        "I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in righteousness and in justice, in love and compassion. I will betroth you in faithfulness, and you will acknowledge the LORD." (Hoseas 2:19-20)

On 16 October 1947, on his 30th birthday he was arrested and imprisoned.
After the prisons of Rafajnaufalu, Beregszasz, and Ungvar, the distribution camps of Lemberg, Krasznojarszk followed.
Then, the Dugyinka, Norilsz - forced labour camps came.
At nuclear bomb factory-Camp I. No. 475. - he was a construction laborer worker for 1 and a half years - a worker in a laundry for half a year.
Next, a worker in a laundry for half a year, a Copper factory - (gold factory). This was followed by the Camp II.
Norilszk exile, as a construction worker, and later as a personal serviceman to the work leader.

From the forced labour camp he was set free on 3 January 1953, at 0 o'clock.



He worked as a warehouse worker for the rest
of the time (28 months), and on 13 May 1955 he was finally set free from the exile.
A total of 92 months passed,
during the entire time of his captivity.

On 16 October 1955, he received the permission for congregational service in Gödenyhaza, Kiralyhaza, and Tekehaza.

On 29 April 1959 he settled down in Hungary, and taught Russian for 8 months.

Then, 1960 was the beginning of his congregational service at the Reformat Church in Kokad.
While 1965 was the beginning of his congregational service at the Reformat Church in Almosd.

In 1990, when he was 73 years old, he retired.
In the summer of that year his wife was called home, and taken by the Lord.
After that he moved to Nyiregyhaza. The caring love of the Lord provided him a three-room flat. One of his pastor coleagues offered him the future flat of his children for the time until the children are brought up.

He preached the Word, completed cassette and
performed letter- mission all over the country.

In Autumn of 1990 he preached the Word in the Parliament.

In 1995, when he was 78 years old, he said: "It is high time for being active. There is no retired state, no unemployment, no retirement age, no passivity. There is no sleeping!"

        At another place he writes: In my Bible there is an important verse saying:
"no one is discharged in time of war." (Ecclesiastes 8:8) Now there is a war!

The closer Jesus's return is, the stronger the struggle is. It is like at His first coming, when he was on the Earth, there were plenty of people who were possessed by the devil, and a multitude of demons. Now the situation is the same again. Since there is a war, there is no holiday." (See Letter to the Ephesians.)
He believed that in God's work there is no retirement age, and he continued to preach the Good News with the strength and power received from Him.
"I tell you these because we are all particularly blessed people. We live at an age when time achieved a terribly high speed. Life became shorter, because the events got this speed. Exactly because of this, since very time is very short; we have to use up every minute of every hour. Today the world lives a prodigal life. People are wasting themselves, time, strength, love, everything, money, their goods. So many of them are burning from the inner flames of sin.
We are given to feel the warmth of God's love. I cannot give it to you, but - God willing - a short book is going to be published about my life. Its title will be:
"WITH YOUR PILLAR OF FIRE AMONG ICE MOUNTAINS".
Its main thoughts are gathered, and I cannot express its message in another way, just as "PILLAR OF FIRE", that was leading Israel, that gave light, warmth and brightness to them, while they had to walk between pagan, wild tribes. Then, anyone who gets saved will experience, what kind of "ICE MOUNTAINS" we are between. It's like I enter the school to hold the faith lesson, and a child is shouting to me: the one with the gown entered, and he laughes. I have to look back at him with love. If I look at him with hatred, then I lost my Lord's authority. Man can see the huge clefts, and the forces of the darkness.

When the Lord Jesus came to the Earth, all demons were particularly active. There were never before so many obsessed people. And now, that His second coming is very near, the demons are also working overtime again. They are pushed to work in an exaggerated way. The angels of all the demons try to catch as many people as possible, even the believers. The rest are already in their hands. They try to rule us. Just like in old times Amalek raided and killed the last part of the migrating Israel who were in the back, tired, and weak. Although God punished him for that, but he avenged. However, today it is like this: the enemy keeps the prayer worriors at ease, prayerless, and cut off from God. Thus, they are dead, lifeless Christias.

I have said it many times, therefore there is no need to say it again what a pain it is that this small Hungary is the first on the list of suicide, and is the very first on the list of suicide of under 16 years of age. We are far before the other countries. The next two Countries have much less suicides than we do.
We have bread, we have clothes, we have a warm homes. Who hasn't, receives.Yet, no desire to live.
Do you remember when I often quoted the song of young people used to sing in a choire:
"It is good to be everywhere, but the best is to be nowhere." Well, yes, nowhere without Christ."

From 1995 he regularly preached the Word of God at the Jewish Mission in Budapest also, called Midnight Call Ministries.

While on the short-wawe Radio Monte Carlo, his preaching of the Word reached the territories that were closed until that time from the Good News.

In addition, his letter and cassette mission was extended from New-Zeland to Australia. Catholic priests picked up on his crystal clear word explanations, and made contact with him first by letter, and later on personally too.

HIS VOW

I made a vow while still in prison, to God saying:
"If He sets me free, I will be a brother to and member of, all communities of healthy, Bible based, registerd or not registerd; and I will go everywhere I am called to.
"I am a friend to all who fear you, to all who follow your precepts." (Psalm 119:63)
Therefore I will visit Presbiterian/reformed, Lutheran, methodist, baptist, and other Christian churches, and even other congregations, where I am called in name of Jesus!"

And he, he kept his vow made in Siberia tirelessly.
He held Evangelisation weeks at different points of the country without considering any denominational limitations, anywhere they invited him. Midnight Call Ministries and News from Israel published several his books, and here at this mission the Lord lead him meet his second wife; Piros Erzsebet. They got married following the guidance of God, and from that time on, they served the Lord together in Spirit and Truth until until he was called him home, on 10 September 1998.

All the glories to the Merciful Lord!

Mrs Erzsebet Piros Zimanyi continues the service. She is the steward of her husband's almost 2000 Word preachings, 25 books, cassettes, CDs and the www.zimanyi.hu website.

"How many believers have reached the Heavenly goal!
They were faithful, they persisted, and their fight ended.
Oh, Jesus, be blessed for these saints!

- You were eternally their rock, their castle,
while the big struggle took place down here.
You were light, star on dark nights.

- If only all your children fought their struggle as faithful,
couraggeous as these winners!
Let us sing with them: Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!"

And now a little exert from the book "WITH YOUR PILLAR OF FIRE AMONG ICE MOUNTAINS", the life of Jozsef Zimanyi:

        I am the most valuable in the eye of Who had been fighting for me in big struggle for six hours and stayed there faithfully on the nails - taking possession of me in this way. He had chosen me before I was born, and encouraged, and comforted me all through my life. My task is to be unconditionally obedient to God; and if I obey His will, then I can entrust the rest to Him. God disciplined me, and when time came to write the letter to Stalin; I had no fear any longer. There isn't a better thing than to obey God in the good days. On my thirtieth birthday I was just praying beside one of my children's bed and thanked God for my life, when people came for me. Two huge KGB lads were standing behind me. ...

I did not see my wife, my children for 92 months. ... I spent 8 months in prison in Beregszasz, then in Ungvar. Then we left for approaching "ICE MOUNTAINS", with "PILLAR OF FIRE" leading us. His fire coloumn was providing light to me all through the way, all the time, and was melting the ice around me.
And I saw this pillar of fire in the bright stars shining through the northern lights too.
These are not invented stories, these really happened. God decided the way my life should go, and I did not allow the destructive forces to disturb that. Instead, his tender thoughts and his protecting will of His attentive love surrounded me through it all. He even pointed out to me that I was in multiple danger and could not take care of myself; it is Him who takes care of me. Therefore I give thanks to Him to this day that I could experience these rescues, and that He "bended to me" with His love; every day. For, it was He who immediately called my attention to the dangers, and cancelled all the scheme of the destroyer.

Who has such a Lord as we, the followers of Jesus, have?
Where is so much love, so much patience, and who is going to have so much inheritance as we will?

We inherited by the legator's death, and we are going to live with Him together. For which God be blessed forever."

"There above they sing a song,
down the tears are still are springing;
Down we are fighting, above they are shining;
And then if Christ's day wins over the night:
The two hosts will re-unite."

"I have done my best in the race, I have run the full distance, and I have kept the faith. And now there is waiting for me the victory prize of being put right with God, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on that Day - and not only to me, but to all those who wait with love for him to appear." (2 Timothy 4:7-8)

Glory and thanks to the Lord!



Maranatha!

"The true people's memory is blessed!"

JESUS IS MY LIFE
(song)

Jesus is my life, strength, peace.
Jesus is my companion, my joy.
I trust in You. You are the Lord.
I do not have any fears any more because You live in me.
I do not have any fears any more because You live in me.

Jesus lives!
Halleluja!!!

Translated by Eva Varga

Some experience with ill people by Istvan Gazdag

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