Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper addressed Israel’s Knesset this week. It was an historic first time speech for a leader from Canada. By all accounts it was well received–another passionate speech about the presence and role of not just the State of Israel but the prophetic relationship of the State of Israel with the English speaking nations. Those who really understand this historic relationship are the only ones speaking today with such fervor. Anyone who has to sell a belief or idea should listen or read a speech like this. It is passion on full display.

Here are a few of the statements Harper made.

“through fire and water, Canada will stand with you”

“it is right to support Israel because, after generations of persecution, the Jewish people deserve their own homeland and deserve to live safely and peacefully in that homeland.

“Let me repeat that: Canada supports Israel because it is right to do so,”

“It is... a Canadian tradition to stand for what is principled and just, regardless of whether it is convenient or popular.”

“The friendship between [Israel and Canada] is rooted in history, nourished by shared values, and it is intentionally reinforced at the highest levels of commerce and government as an outward expression of strongly held inner convictions,”

Harper said some of those shared values are “freedom, democracy and rule of law,” in which Israel “has long anchored itself,”.

“These are not mere notions, they are the things that, over time and against all odds, have proven to be the only ground in which human rights, political stability and economic prosperity may flourish.”

Not everyone liked the speech. Arab members of the Knesset walked out and some opposition Israeli members balked at Harper’s positions.

Noteworthy were Harpers comments about anti-Semitism, a plague that has not disappeared from the world scene. “We have witnessed in recent years the mutation of the old disease of anti-Semitism and the emergence of a new strain.... People who would never say they hate and blame the Jews for their own failings or the problems of the world, instead declare their hatred of Israel and blame the only Jewish state for the problems of the Middle East. As once Jewish businesses were boycotted, some civil-society leaders today call for a boycott of Israel,” Harper stated.

“Think about the twisted logic and outright malice behind that: a state, based on freedom, democracy and the rule of law, that was founded so Jews can flourish, as Jews, and seek shelter from the shadow of the worst racist experiment in history, [a state] that is condemned – and that condemnation is masked in the language of anti-racism. It is nothing short of sickening. But this is the face of the new anti-Semitism,” Harper said.

Press reports of the rousing ovations during this speech match the same response Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu received in 2011 when he addressed the United States Congress. There is a reason. Israel and the English speaking nations are joined by common values that stretch far into the ancient past. Those values are rooted in the laws God handed down to Moses.

Harper spoke of freedom, human rights, rule of law, political stability and economic prosperity. All of these are found in what is commonly called the Law of Moses. The economic strength and prosperity of the English speaking nations today are rooted in the laws, statutes and judgments of the Bible. Genesis 49:22-24 describes Joseph as “a fruitful bough by a well; his branches run over the wall…and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the Mighty God of Jacob…”

Serious Bible students understand these words as the basis of prosperity for the modern English speaking nations of the world. They unlock the essential dimension of understanding needed to make sense of today’s world scene. This ancient prophecy stretches into the headlines of today, helping us understand why the State of Israel matters in the context of the intractable conflict of the Middle East.

Read this passage from our booklet The United States and Britain in Bible Prophecy for more insight into this fascinating subject

One more point. Pay attention to speeches like this. They are rare. They get our attention because they are passionate and have a common sense about today’s reality. Speeches like this are a wake up call.