Expect Prophets!

Simply put, religion is just a set of symbols, culturally familiar to explain the unexplainable. Religions change and morph thru the appearance of prophets, sages,buddhas, etc. Almost never is the enlightened one totally accepted my the religious tradition that gave him birth. He is usually considered a rebel. This means that should Jesus return, the Jewish Messiah appear, the Islamic Madhi and Maitreya Buddha arrive, they will most certainly not be accepted by the "orthodox" of their faiths. Enlightened beings always walk amongst us, but are rarely heard by the masses, content with their views of ever changing cultural symbolism. Sometimes, the process needs a jump start, and prophets are listened to and followed. In the 1000+ year period, roughly between 500BC and 600AD we had the appearance of prophets, whose followers later based religions upon.
Aristotle and Plato,Jesus, Zoroaster, Buddha, Muhammad, Confucius, and Lao Tse. A lot of prophets for a short period of time and none of major import since. Why is this?
Culture changes, then religion changes. Paleolithic animism and hunting magic gave way gave way to multitudinous dieties and systems of relative complexity after the Neolithic and agricultural revolution. People now lived in towns, cities primarily, had surpluses, invented wealth and kings. They needed kings on high and a holy government of minor gods,angels, saints or spirits to fufil new needs. Paleolithic gods could not answer the new questions and prophets appeared, now only faded myths exist of them. By 500BC, the world order had changed again, city states faded, empires appeared, iron was the new technology, war became a profession..... and prophets appeared. The old religions were useless in new times and the sages tried to explain the mysteries in new symbols. Man had writing, the teaching survived.
Now in the 21st century, with vast advances in the scientific understanding of the universe, new information technologies and mans recent ability to totally destroy himself.Old religion is silent on answers. Old religions now begin to decay as their uselessness becomes evident. Muslim, Christian and Jewish fundamnetalism has turned religions into to creatures their founders would scarcely recognize. Eastern faiths have become repetitive in exercises of ritual. Oh, saints and prophets appear,The Dalai Lama, Mother Theresa to name two. But there influences are rarely felt by masses brainwashed by the confused clerics of the modern world.
Change is happening, expect Prophets!