Prophecy Is Returning - Upgrade in Consciousness; Are You Ready?

Summary

Rabbi YY Jacobson presents a teaching about the possible return of prophecy—not primarily as prediction, but as a renewed capacity to experience divine presence and inner spiritual clarity.

The biblical starting point

• The Torah portion of Balak recounts events involving Balak and Balaam outside the Israelite camp. The lecturer emphasizes that the Israelites could not have witnessed the episode themselves; in his account, Moses recorded it through divine revelation.
• Jacobson focuses on Balaam’s words in Numbers 24:23, which he interprets as anticipating a future time when people will ask the Jewish people, “What has God done?” Rashi reads this as a period when their awareness of God will be so strong that even angels will seek understanding from them.
• The following image, of a people rising “like a lion,” is connected in the lecture to contemporary events and the idea of renewed Jewish strength. Jacobson describes recent events involving Israel and Iran as miraculous and urges gratitude, presenting this as a religious interpretation of those events.

Rambam’s timeline and the return of prophecy

• Jacobson cites a tradition attributed to Maimonides (Rambam) in a letter to the Jews of Yemen. According to the account, Rambam understood “at a time like this” as a precise reference to a future date.
• The calculation begins with the year 2488 from creation, associated with the Israelites’ time in the wilderness, and adds the same span again: 4976 from creation, identified in the lecture as approximately 1216 CE.
• Jacobson treats this date as the beginning of a gradual revival of prophetic consciousness. He links it to the emergence of Jewish mystical teachings, especially Kabbalah, and to later traditions about spiritual insight among Jewish sages.
• He connects this development with the prophecy in Joel that God’s spirit will be poured out and that people will prophesy, dream, and see visions.

Two modes of religious life—and their eventual integration

The lecture describes an early period of Jewish history in which prophecy and direct experience of God were central. Jacobson characterizes this as “seeing”: grasping the whole spiritual picture directly.

After the destruction of the First Temple, Jewish religious life increasingly emphasized study, law, interpretation, and practical detail. Jacobson describes this as “hearing,” because understanding builds from particulars toward a larger picture.

The anticipated return of prophecy is presented not as a rejection of law or learning, but as a fusion: spiritual meaning is experienced within the details of religious practice, and the details are understood as expressions of a larger divine reality.

What prophecy means in this teaching

Jacobson distinguishes the kind of inner prophetic awareness he is discussing from spectacular revelations or claims to know the future. He describes it as a person’s capacity to sense truth, relate to the soul, and experience God’s presence in ordinary life.

He argues that developing this capacity requires personal work: honesty about one’s fears, trauma, insecurity, and emotional patterns; openness to growth; and compassion toward one’s own humanity.

He also cautions that spiritual language can be misused. He offers four signs to help distinguish genuine spiritual awareness from ego, reactivity, or self-deception:

1. Humility: The person feels like a channel, not someone who owns divine authority or is superior to others.
2. Inner regulation: The experience brings calm, compassion, and steadiness—not anger, panic, pressure, or an unreasonable sense of urgency.
3. Faithfulness to Jewish law: A supposed spiritual insight is not a license to dismiss or override Torah obligations.
4. Constructive feedback: Trusted people close to the person notice greater kindness, light, and positivity—not distress or harm.

The lecture also connects this approach to relationships and family life. Religious teaching should not consist only of instructions and rules; a person’s loving, attentive presence can help others experience spiritual values.

The story of Samuel

Jacobson concludes with the biblical account of the young Samuel hearing a call at night. Samuel initially assumes that Eli has called him; Eli eventually helps him recognize that the call is from God.

The story’s lesson, as presented in the lecture, is to develop trust in the possibility of a personal relationship with God. That trust should be cultivated carefully, with humility, emotional steadiness, and guidance—not through grandiose claims or imagined revelations.

Overall message

The lecture portrays the present as a period of changing consciousness and a possible preparation for redemption. Its central invitation is to join religious knowledge and practice with inner experience: to “see” the larger spiritual meaning while also “hearing” and living it through everyday choices.

Speakers and sources featured

• Speaker: Rabbi YY Jacobson, the lecturer.
• Biblical and Jewish sources cited: The Torah portion of Balak; Numbers 24:23–24; Rashi; Rambam/Maimonides, including his letter to the Jews of Yemen and Foundations of the Torah; the prophet Joel; the Talmud, including a reference to Megillah; the Tanakh’s account of Samuel in 1 Samuel 3; and Kabbalistic writings and traditions.
• Other people mentioned or quoted: Rabbi Dov Ber Pinson, in connection with a podcast; Rabbi Rietti or Rabbi Fischer, whose attribution is uncertain in the auto-generated subtitles; and various Jewish sages and mystics, including the Ramban, the Baal Shem Tov, and the Maggid of Mezeritch.