Qaz, you are minimizing the literal as merely figurative hyperbole in Zechariah. For example, the Mount of Olives has not yet split under Jesus’ feet at his return! There is no living water yet flowing out of Jerusalem!
And the things that Jesus talked about in the Olivet Discourse did not take place in 70 AD, except for the destruction of Herod’s temple. For instance, in 70 AD, Matthew 24:21 was NOT fulfilled: “For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor EVER shall be.”
The disciples whom Jesus addresses in the Olivet Discourse would have had some confusion, which would be resolved over time, even after their time.
Similarly, the Pharisees were confused about prophecy when they rejected Jesus. “Part A” messianic prophecies showed Messiah as a suffering servant. “Part B" messianic prophecies showed Messiah as a conquering king. But they chose to fixate on Part B prophecies, and could not recognize the truth that the Messiah had come to them as a lowly sacrificial lamb first, and only later would come again like a roaring lion to rescue his people.
There is a principle of interpretation which must be recognized here: many prophecies, including the Olivet Discourse, are written directly to the people who will be living when the prophecy is fulfilled.
Jeremiah said, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen.” Revelation later repeats it, applying it to a city that has still not yet been rebuilt.
Paul used this principle when he wrote, “Then we [meaning “those”] which are alive and remain shall be caught up [raptured].” Paul was conforming to a practice of putting the prophecy in the words of the people who will be living when the time comes.
Paul knew that, for himself, the Second Coming was not imminent, as for instance, he also says, “Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin [Antichrist] be revealed, the son of perdition.”
Malachi 3 tells of the physical, undeniable, and therefore yet future, Second Coming of Christ:
1 …And the Lord, whom you seek,
Will suddenly come to His temple…
2 … “But who can endure the day of His coming?
And who can stand when He appears?
For He is like a refiner’s fire
And like launderers’ soap.
Not figurative. Literal.
When the temple is rebuilt, it will clear up a lot of confusion!
Consider this recent news story from Israel, “Sanhedrin Urges Candidates for Jerusalem Mayor to Prepare for Third Temple," casually discussing the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem:
Jerusalem will have a new mayor next week and more than any other election this year will decide the religious nature of Israel’s capital. The nascent Sanhedrin has addressed a letter to the two [mayoral] candidates emphasizing the role of the Third Temple in municipal current policy.
…The Sanhedrin has already begun working toward this end, holding full-dress reenactments of the Temple service before the Biblical feasts. Another glorious example of this was the World Creation Concert held the week before Rosh Hashana, which several representatives from South American countries attended.
The Sanhedrin emphasized that the city will change WHEN the Temple is built, requiring massive improvements to its infrastructure.
…“With God’s merciful approval, one of you will be chosen as head of the city, may it be built and made ready for its ultimate purpose,” the Sanhedrin wrote. “We call on the candidates as well as the voters to make choices based on truth and on the main aspect of Jerusalem, which is the building of the Temple.”
The Sanhedrin wrote a similar letter to U.S. President Donald Trump after he won the election, calling on him to take a role in building the Third Temple just as Persian King Cyrus helped the Jews build the Second Temple after the Babylonian exile in the sixth century BCE.
