"But whenever they persecute you in one city, flee to the next; for truly I say to you,
you will not finish going through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes. Matthew 10:23 (NASB)
"Truly I say to you, there are
some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom." Matthew 16:28 (NASB)
"Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city, so that upon you may fall
the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
"Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.
"Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.
"Behold, your house is being left to you desolate! Matthew 23:34-38 (NASB)
"But
immediately after the tribulation of those days THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, AND THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE ITS LIGHT, AND THE STARS WILL FALL from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. "And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory.
Matthew 24:29-30 (NASB)
so, you too,
when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door. "Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Matthew 24:33-34 (NASB)
"But
keep on the alert at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man."
Luke 21:36 (NASB)
It doesn't matter what some people think 2nd century Christians believed. What matters is what Jesus told the disciples and what His apostles recorded. Everything they wrote pointed directly to His return while some of them still lived; before that generation had passed.
It is incumbent upon us to understand what His words mean in that context, not twist them into something they were never intended to mean or ignore them.