Yes, this 'spiritual return" thing has been the default position of the church for the last 2000 since Jesus physically failed to return as his followers expected him to. Now it IS possible this is what Jesus was referring to when he said he would return, but that is beside the point. The point is that his followers believed his return would be physical, Paul included. That's why we have Paul writing in Thessolonians
16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Now I don't care how much to try to twist this into a spiritual return, cOLTER, Paul is obviously talking about a physical return of Jesus to the earth to raise the dead and then catch up the living with them into the air. It is unmistakable. And it never happened. And if Paul was communicating directly with God and God told him, "No, my son Jesus was wrong. His return will be physical" you have a problem somewhere along the chain of command with someone being wrong--either Paul, or Jesus, or God. Pick your poison. Any way you choose it, Christianity fails because it got a message from God wrong. The Holy Spirit clearly goofed somewhere along the line with either Jesus or Paul. It's impossible to escape that.