You may be correct, My grandson had some of my books and the historian I am thinking of (can't remember his name )
said that until the word was invented there was nothing to argue about,
As many are persuaded and believe that what we teach and say is true, and undertake to live accordingly, are instructed to entreat God with fasting...then they are brought by us where there is water, and are regenerated in the same manner in which we ourselves were...For Christ also said :"'Unless you be born-again, you cannot see the kingdom of God".
Irenaeus (Against Heresies, ca 180 A.D.)
We are lepers in sin, we are made clean by means of the sacred water and invocation of the Lord, from our old transgression; being spiritually regenerate as new born babes, even as the Lord has declared "except a man be born again through water and the Spirit, he shall not enter the kingdom of heaven.
The ECFs uniformly interpreted Matthew 24 as fulfilled up to the point where they believed the Great Tribulation was past! That early tradition fully contradicts the futurist view, and yet futurists don't submit to the ECFs on their understanding. So, one must be entirely selective in ones use of the ECFs, picking and choosing only those traditions that conform to ones tradition.
Furthermore, the Reformers' commentaries of Matthew 24 interpret the chapter as mostly *OR COMPLETELY* fulfilled! Even the JFB commentary prefers this understanding. Why refuse to submit to this well-established tradition?
The historical interpretation of Matthew 24 has been uniformly PRETERISTIC in its bias.
Many see those churches are either representing the different stages of future church history, or else being a type of church that would be found in any church time!
"many see" is not a foundation to build doctrine upon.
Now if you could replace "many see" with "scripture teaches", then we could begin to build doctrine....
Can you?
But even if we take either of those scenerios, it still doesn't answer the question of how many comings of christ as a thief does scripture teach?
What do "Many see" about that?
My understanding is there is only one Coming of Christ "as a thief" taught in scripture, and Jesus applies that event to First century peoples, indeed PROMISES it would befall THEM.
AS a thief. In the manner of a thief - with stealth, unbeknown to most until its too late.
There are two models in scripture: (Noah and Lot)
Luke 17
26 And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.
27 They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.
28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded;
29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all.
30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.
Ho-hum, business as usual...
Noteworthy; God removes His remnant from the place of judgment before his wrath falls - in this age it will be the Harpazo (AKA The Rapture).