I'll throw a wrench in things here. While I believe the Olivet Disourse covers the events of AD 70, I think Preterists fail to see something very important. Let's look at a part of the Olivet Discourse in Luke,
Luke 21:20-28
{21:20} And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with
armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh.
{21:21} Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the
mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart
out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto.
{21:22} For these be the days of vengeance, that all things
which are written may be fulfilled. {21:23} But woe unto
them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those
days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath
upon this people. {21:24} And they shall fall by the edge of
the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations:
and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until
the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
{21:25} And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the
moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of
nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;
{21:26} Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking
after those things which are coming on the earth: for the
powers of heaven shall be shaken. {21:27} And then shall
they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and
great glory. {21:28} And when these things begin to come
to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your
redemption draweth nigh.
I believe we see how Jesus warned the disciples that when THEY saw Jerusalem surrounded by armies THEY were to know that it’s desolation was nigh. For this reason Christians fled Jerusalem at the first sight of the Roman armies gathering to surround the city. It’s been said that because they heeded this prophecy not a single Christian perished in the siege of Jerusalem.
But then we read something interesting. Jesus then describes the subsequent events AFTER the siege. Christ states,
“{21:24} And they shall fall by the edge of
the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations:
and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until
the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.”
Jesus states that the surviving inhabitants of Jerusalem would be led away captive into all nations. This is known as the Diaspora. The Jewish survivors were led away captive from Judea and scattered across the Roman Empire. The Jews lived in this exile for nearly 2,000 years. This is why the Jews could be found in Germany and Russian during WWII. Jesus clearly said that this “Diaspora” would last “until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” That means that Christ’s words would encompass all of history leading up to the resettlement of Judea by the Jews after the nation of Israel was established in 1948. This would mean that the “times of the Gentiles” began closing in May of 1948.
The next statement given by Jesus leads us forward from 1948 to the present day…
{21:25} And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the
moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of
nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;
{21:26} Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking
after those things which are coming on the earth: for the
powers of heaven shall be shaken.
Here we are told that from 1948 until the Second Coming we’d see mysterious astrological phenomena, distress of nations (with perplexity), the sea and the waves roaring (oceanic disturbances), epidemic stress and anxiety experienced by mankind after seeing the “powers of the heaven shaken”. This could mean the fall of established governments throughout the world. Or it could mean that mankind would experience epidemic anxiety after seeing something that unleashes enough power to “shake the heavens”. So this could also be pointing to the power of nuclear warfare.
Then we read….
{21:27} And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. {21:28} And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.
We then see Jesus say, “And then shall THEY (not YE, as in the disciples) see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” Notice Jesus shifted from saying “when ye shall see” to “then shall they see”. Jesus then tells the disciples that when they see these things “begin to come to pass” they are to look up, and lift up their heads, for their redemption was drawing near.
Indeed the disciples’ generation saw those things “begin to come to pass” in AD 70, thus fulfilling all written in
Luke 21:20-24. However, they are not specifically told here in Luke that they would see the events following the Diaspora leading up to our present day.
Those who claim that all was fulfilled in AD 70 are not taking any of this into account. That means that our generation may be the one to see the fulfillment of
Luke 21:25-28.
Seeing that Christ himself stated that not even he knew the hour of his return, it behooves us to understand that not even Jesus could tell us a timeframe. Thus we need to understand that in Matthew and Mark, it might be natural for Jesus (or Matthew and Mark) to not have allowed for nearly a 2,000 year gap of history between the desolation of Judea and the Second Coming. This would be called the "mountain peaks of prophecy" theory.
To Jesus and the listener the events discribed may have seemed one after the other without regards to the valley of history existing between the two. Thus Matthew and Mark's rendition of the Olivet Discourse must be interpreted with this in mind.