Most of us have had the sensation. It’s the strange feeling that the exact same moment has been experienced before. The experience is brief and, to me at least, almost entertaining. And, at my age, I’ve lived long enough to have had a number of these “brain slippages back in time,” or whatever they are.

One recognized dictionary defines the term: “Déjà vu is a French loanword expressing the feeling that one has lived through the present situation before. It is an anomaly of memory whereby, despite the strong sense of recollection, the time, place, and practical context of the ‘previous’ experience are uncertain or believed to be impossible.”

A most pointed malapropism (unintentional, often humorous, misuse) of the term was issued by one of Major League Baseball’s most famous malapropists, Yogi Berra. (The other is Casey Stengel.)

Yogi, Hall of Fame catcher for the New York Yankees, made the hilarious and now-famous quip using the term during the 1961 baseball season. When Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle were batting third and fourth in the Yankee lineup, many times Roger would hit a home run on his way to eclipsing Babe Ruth’s record that year. Mickey, batting right behind him, would also hit a home run. They combined that year for a record of such follow-up home runs.

Yogi, observing from the bench as his teammates homered, turned to somebody and said, right after Mickey followed up Roger’s home run with one of his own: “It’s déjà vu all over again.”

Well, the way I intend to present the word and its meaning will, I hope, come across somewhat less obliquely than Yogi’s observation on that day. As a matter of fact, the things involved are most serious. The Lord Himself seemed righteously angry at the religionists of His day and the way they ignored their duty to observe and report on the times of their watch.

Here is a description of the incident that stirred the Lord to chastise the Jewish teachers. I wrote the following for our book, Discerners: Analyzing Converging Prophetic Signs for the End of Days.

“Jesus looked directly and deeply into the eyes of the pious religionists and elitist-legalists (the Pharisees and Sadducees). His omniscient, penetrating, piercing, eyes saw into their very souls. These religious zealots and lawyers sought to disprove the claims by His followers that He was sent from God. They wanted Him to immediately perform a private miracle for them, thinking, no doubt, that He would fail, giving them fodder for their attacks against Him.

“In answer to their probing demands that He show them a sign to prove His commission from Heaven, Jesus said: ‘When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather: for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?’ (Matthew 16: 2–3).

“Jesus was chastising these zealots because they deliberately refused to accept that He fulfilled every prophecy that pointed to Him as Israel’s Messiah. He later said about these and the Jewish people, who were misled by them, thus rejected Him as Israel’s Mashiach.

“ ‘I am come in my Father’s name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive.’ (John 5: 43)

“Jesus was referring to a time in the Israel of the future that would set in motion the most terrible period of all of human history. It will initiate Daniel’s Seventieth Week—the last seven years before Christ’s return at Armageddon.

“We find the prophecy about this one Israel will accept in Daniel 9:26–27. Israel will make a covenant with this ‘prince that shall come,’ which this son of perdition will confirm for that week of years.”

The Jewish nation is scheduled, according to Jesus’ foreknowledge, to experience “déjà vu all over again,” as Yogi would put it. They will again be led astray in their spiritual blindness to Christ’s true messiahship. They will instead fall for the False Messiah, who, really, will come on the scene in a dual configuration: The Antichrist and the False Prophet—the two beasts of Revelation chapter 13.

An interesting young man, whom some of Israel’s foremost religious leaders look to in an almost worshipful way, has stepped upon the stage of end-times history. His name is Rav Shlomo Yehuda.

The following article explains the Orthodox Jewish leaders’ looking for a Messiah, while continuing to turn a blind eye to the real Messiah:

A recent interview on Israeli radio featured prominent rabbis explaining that the Messiah is just about to reveal himself.

Rabbi Yaakov Zisholtz told religious broadcaster Radio 2000 that Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky (who passed away earlier this year) had told him that he (Kanievsky) was already in direct contact with the Messiah.

To understand why religious Jews are taking this seriously, it’s important to know that Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky was considered one of the two or three top rabbis of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in Israel.

And Rabbi Zisholtz says that Kanievsky and others of the mystical “concealed” rabbis had tasked him with informing the public of the Messiah’s imminent arrival.

Rabbi Zisholtz began his explosive three-hour interview with a warning:

“…the process of redemption is about to start happening very quickly and at a fast pace. It is important that people remain calm and steady to act properly in the right time.

“There is a potential Messiah in every generation and there are righteous men who know precisely who it is. This is, of course, true in this generation.

“Getting the word out now that the Messiah is closer than ever is a matter of life and death. Haven’t you heard of Gog and Magog? That is what is going to happen very soon. Right now, the situation is explosive more than you can possibly imagine. (“Israeli Rabbi Says He’s Already Holding Meetings with Messiah, A snapshot of Israel’s spiritual hunger as biggest rabbis are afraid to leave the country lest they miss Messiah’s coming,” by Ryan Jones, 9/29/22)

Many among the rabbinical high clergy apparently believe that Rav Shlomo Yehudah is that long-awaited savior of Israel.

The following gives a glimpse of this man of mystery who has suddenly appeared on the scene at the same time so many signs of the Tribulation are converging. There are reports that he performs miracles and heals terminal diseases, among other wonders.

We’re outside, waiting for the Yanuka.

It’s silent in the deserted courtyard of the little shul, for even though coronavirus restrictions have been eased and the streets have again come to life, most people are in bed at this hour. But we’re waiting — and then we see him. Soon we’re face to face with this bashful young man who’s taken the Torah world by storm — self-effacing, unremarkable in appearance, but so remarkable in the impact he’s had on the lives of the thousands who flock to him, hanging on his every word…

Rav Shlomo Yehudah was born in Eretz Yisrael in 1988, an only child born after many years. His paternal grandfather, Rav Shlomo, was a scion of the sages of Yemen and learned with the great mekubalim of Jerusalem after he arrived in the Holy Land. His maternal grandfather, Rav Yehudah, made aliyah from Aleppo, Syria…

The family returned to Israel shortly before Shlomo Yehudah’s bar mitzvah. At the time, there was a memorial event for a relative, and the family was looking for someone to say words of Torah in honor of the deceased. His father asked him to speak before the assembled, and he agreed, out of respect — but even his father had no idea of the depth of Torah that would pour forth from his young illui. As Shlomo Yehudah lowered his head and sought the right words, the thin stream quickly grew into a powerful waterfall. People were astonished.

It was as if they were watching a child possessed. The voice was small and innocent, but the words were those of an accomplished talmid chacham — a tapestry of Chumash and Navi, Gemara and Aggadah, every source accurately cited…

When Rav Shlomo Yehudah was 18, he began giving regular shiurim in different communities around the country, and it didn’t matter if you were litvish, yeshivish, or chassidish — people from all sectors began to flock to him. He married at age 20 and settled in Rishon L’Tzion, where he lives today, and where for the last ten years he’s been giving a regular shiur and trying to avoid publicity. But two years ago, in response to the directive of gedolei hador (some of whom come to his shiurim), his shiurim have gone public, in halls and auditoriums, sometimes drawing over a thousand people at an event. And there are a lot of surprises too. He often asks the crowd to pick a subject they want him to speak about — and he’s off and running, pulling together sources from all over, creating a tapestry of light and wisdom for a spellbound audience. (“Perfect Harmony,” by Aharon Kliger and Aryeh Ehrlich, Mishpacha Magazine, 5/26/20)

Israel will again make the mistake of failing to discern the time of their Messiah’s appearance. The Jewish religionists are again leading the people astray as they look to another rather than to the True Messiah—Jesus Christ. The result will be much worse than a 2,000-plus-year diaspora. The rebellious action will bring the time of Jacob’s trouble (Jeremiah 30:7).

You don’t want to make the same devastating mistake that Israel once made and is about to make yet again. Accept today Israel’s Messiah, the Savior of the world (John 3:16).

Here again is how to make sure you will go to Him when He calls all believers in the Rapture.

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Romans 10:9–10)