Matthew 24. Has it already been fulfilled?

If you read Matthew 24:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2024&version=NIV


For all my Christian life I have assumed (probably because I have been told) that Matthew 24 has not yet entirely been fulfilled and these things predicted by Jesus are still to come to pass. These sites are an interesting read.

http://www.catholicapologetics.info/apologetics/judaism/prophetic.htm

http://gospelthemes.com/Mt24.htm

http://www.godrules.net/library/clarke/clarkemat24.htm

I just don't buy this one: http://www.bibleexplained.com/Gospels/Matt/mt21-25/Mt24.htm

I have been in Churches for 35 years and I have never heard once the preaching of the complete destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D and that Jesus prophesied all this in Matthew 24. If you read historical works like Josephus, this was a massive event, not just another conquest by the Roman army. I read Josephus and it looks like he may have unknowingly recorded, down to the exact event, the things Jesus prophesied about.
Is Matthew 24 a prophecy on the destruction of Jerusalem or the Second Coming of Christ? Can it be both? If it is an already fulfilled prophecy about 70 A.D, where does that leave the Second Coming? I believe Jesus hasn't finished with the world yet and that he is the risen Son of God, but if Matthew 24 has already happened, what passage in the Bible refers to the final act of Christ. Is there a scholar out there? Yes, I am a Christian asking a question like this.
Jesus said a couple of times that 'this generation will not pass away until all these things have happened' . I have always accepted that Jesus was referring to a future generation. But read such passages in context! Jesus was referring to the generation he was in. Some people say that Jesus was wrong because of such statements, because 2000 years later we are still here. But in the entire New Testament there is a sense of urgency. Jesus didn't get it wrong. He wasn't lazy, he didn't just forget to mention there will be another 2000 years at least before Matthew 24 is fulfilled. The generation back then saw, as predicted by Jesus, the fulfillment of Matthew 24.
Do yourself a favour and stop skipping over difficult parts of the Bible. Read the Bible. Test it. Ask questions. Ask the difficult questions. Challenge yourself. Only then can you effectively defend the Gospel. Don't be afraid of your pastor not agreeing with you. Throw in the curly one at your Bible Study group. There is an 85 year old man in my small group that enjoys the curly question. It's a good challenge. His standard statment is 'there is no hell'. Try answering that question without knowing the Bible. Stop being a lemming! Yes, you can live the Gospel by example, but your holy life can not be conducted without knowing what God has to say. His main method of communication with us is through the main medium of human communication (the written letter...The Bible) .
Intelligent people will ask you questions like is Christ coming back? Is there a Hell? Why aren't I going to heaven? Why did Jesus die? What is Jesus doing today? Have an answer. Your ability to defend the gospel (along with how you live your life and guidance from the Holy Spirit), will lead people to Christ. Who do you think Christ is? You can't know this by just listening to Sermons and just reading the comfortable bits of the Bible. A lot of what Jesus said is not comfortable. We just can't read the encouraging bits that make us feel good.
What a rant I have just had.