I do not believe, as some do, that the Second Coming of Jesus took place when the Roman army destroyed the Jerusalem Temple in AD70. Acts 1:11 is clear that his return to earth will be a physical one. “And this same Jesus that is taken up from you into heaven shall come in the same manner as you have seen him go.”
I believe that the destruction of the Jerusalem temple ended the era during which the Jews were God’s chosen people, and their faith as the only one that promised salvation. After the destruction of the body politic of the Jewish nation, the Jews were “scattered abroad” until the end of the Gentile era (Romans 11:25).
Their regathering was prophesied in Ezekiel 37, gained momentum in the early part of the 20th century, and was realized when the United Nations recognized Israel as a nation state. Widespread guilt in the West over the Holocaust was instrumental in bringing it about.
Jews and Gentiles had from the time of the Lord’s resurrection been “one body” of believers. (God’s covenant with Abraham and his natural descendants, however, have remained in force.)
During the forty-year time period between the crucifixion of Jesus and the destruction of the Temple, many Jews came to know the risen Lord, and only when that period ended did judgement fall on the city, just as Jesus had prophesied. (Throughout the Bible, 40 is a symbol of testing, of probation.)
“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 by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.” (Luke 21:24)
However, Jesus did come spiritually after those forty years ended. His promise: “I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you” was fulfilled when the disciples received the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. Jesus remained in heaven, physically, but since then has been present in “the church, which is his body”.
The forty years between the ascension of Jesus into heaven and the destruction of the Jewish temple was the opportunity for the Jews to acknowledge their sin of rejecting and crucifying their long-awaited Messiah. References to the shortness of time left for them to repent before God’s judgement on Jerusalem occur often in the writings of the apostles in those epistles written for Christian Jews, such as James, 1 & 2 Peter, and Hebrews.
The apostle Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 10:11: “Now all these [judgements] happened to [the children of Israel] for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the age are come.” Texts such as this were pointers to the soon coming end of the Jewish era.
Paul wrote to the church at Philippi: “The Lord is at hand.” (Philippians 4:5) “At hand” is about as close as a person or event can get. How close at hand is the end of the church era? We do not know. Which is why we need to prepare ourselves and so be ready for this next Great Event!