Jesus himself said that his return would be within the lives of 'this generation'.
generation: from the Greek word gevnoß
Definition : 1.kindred a. offspring b. family c. stock, tribe, nation (i.e. nationality or descent from a particular people) c. the aggregate of many individuals of the same nature, kind, sort
looking at the Greek it seems to me that he was very possibly speaking of events that could be far down the road. I believe that we should use the Hebrew and Greek in our studies but lets do it consistantly.....If your going to look at the Hebrew for the OT....you need to also look at the Greek as well for the NT
Fair enough. ;o)
Definition : 1.kindred a. offspring b. family c. stock, tribe, nation (i.e. nationality or descent from a particular people) c. the aggregate of many individuals of the same nature, kind, sort
I'm not sure the context can support your interpretation that Jesus meant some time far in the future. Setting that aside, though, it seems that the disciples did expect his imminent return. Otherwise Peter would not have needed to provide an explanation for Jesus's delay.
The Greek, with the relevant words highlighted:
Amne lego: humin hoti ou me: parelthe: he genea aute: heo:s panta tauta gene:tai.
[Matt xxiv:34]