Now ... how is it ... that after 40 days of teaching from Christ about the kingdom; the apostles asked the STUPID question "Are you going to restore the kingdom?" WHAT KINGDOM ARE THEY TALKING ABOUT? Some kingdom in the heart? The only possible answer is the kingdom spoken of by Daniel, the kingdom that was suppose to be restored after the return from the Babylonian exile ... which ... btw ... never happened ... even in Jesus day.
The OT concept of kingdom rarely made distinction between the king and the kingdom. Recall "You oh king ... are that head of gold ... and after you ... will come another kingdom.
The preterist has no explanation for the apostles question in Acts 1 (at least rational one, some have argued they didnt have the HS so they were stupid until Pentecost) for this ... nor can they defend an early date for Revelation; which is absolutely essential for the position ... and quite frankly, makes preterism trivial to dispense with as an unbiblical teaching.
Because they were at times, well, dense. Jesus was clearly needing to teach them right up until the time He ascended to the Father and took His seat on the throne of David.
And so, how did Jesus respond to them. He basically said, “Hey, look, it not about Israel. It’s about taking my gospel into the whole world, beginning in Judea and spreading out from there.” He made it plain before, as He started His ministry, “the kingdom of God is within you.” Some folks don’t get it, even today. The kingdom for them is far away. They still look for an external, geopolitical kingdom with earthly Israel at the center.
Earthly Jerusalem is a center of bondage. It was then and it still is today. But the heavenly Jerusalem is populated by those who make up the new Israel, and is like the freewoman, “but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.” (cf. Galatians 4).
Have you cast out the bondwoman, or is that your dispensational longing?