I've been in some discussions with some preterists on other boards. Their main arguing point is the "time indicators" in Revelation & Matt. 24 that they say shows those events happened 66-70 AD, but they ignore several things. The most-obvious, of course, is that THE EVENTS HAVEN'T YET OCCURRED!. They ignore rev. 3:10 where Jesus says the trib will come upon THE WHOLE WORLD. And they ignore Rev. 19, which plainly says the beast will be in power when Jesus returns. That chapter alone proves preterism completely false.
Again, I believe the trib begins with the 7 seals of the scroll Jesus is unrolling, & the 4 horsemen. Then, the events of the seals, trumpets, & vials come close togtther, til we see the events of the 7th seal, trumpet, & vial are very similar. I believe they'll be simultaneous, & will all occur well before 3.5 years have passed from their beginning.