Do you really think that all of the following occurred ~70 A.D.? :
Revelation 1:
[SUP]7[/SUP] Behold,
~ he cometh with clouds; and
~ every eye shall see him, and
~ they also which pierced him: and
~ all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
Also - what if
Revelation was written before 70 A.D.? Then what...?
I agree with the alphabet man. The parousia of Christ is not the physical return but the presence of Christ returned in 70 AD and is here today. We are living in the so-called millennium. The Mosaic age ended with the destruction of the temple and the final judgment of Israel. The Messianic age began at the resurrection and there was a 40 year transition period to close out the Mosaic age and pass judgment on the wicked, specifically those who killed Christ and did not know Him.
Everything in the Olivet dealt with the destruction of the temple and city and the end of THAT age, not the end of the world!! Nowhere in the passage does Christ skip ahead a few thousand years. He clearly said that everything He told would come to THAT generation. Look closely at the question:
They asked when His presence would return, not when He would literally and physically return. Christ's presence returned to execute judgment on the wicked, unbelieving Jews in 70 AD. Christ is now ruling the nations with a rod of iron, blessing the faithful nations and punishing the wicked nations. He must rule until He puts all enemies under His feet. Right now the spiritual battle rages on earth between the evil powers and the church. In the end, Christ wins.
The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed. A small seed is planted (which happened during Christ's ministry) and slowly grows into a tree. In the end, the entire planet will be Christian.