Seventh-day Adventists are compelled to talk about the Second Advent of Christ because it is part of their name. It is Bible language which they understand.
But their calling and integrity demand that they consider their history and face a serious question, "Why the delay?" To ask it is to confirm the answer. There has been a delay in the Second Advent of the Lord Jesus. Each passing year only makes the fact more perplexing. But to acknowledge that there has been a delay confronts us with an even more serious dilemma--"why" has there been a delay?
The whole idea of a second coming is based on Christ's own words, "I will come again" (John 14:3). If we believe He came in a first advent and lived out the prophecies of the Old Testament, it is reasonable to believe He understood them. He will also fulfill the New Testament prophecies. Specifically He made reference to "the law of Moses" and "the prophets" and "the psalms," as well as "Daniel the prophet" (Luke 24:44; Matt. 24:15). Therefore Christ's promise concerning His Second Advent is proclaimed in the context of the entire Bible.
His reference to the prophet Daniel indicates that He was acquainted with the 2300-day prophecy which sets forth clearly His first advent experience with His tribulation at Calvary and provides a time frame unique in the Scriptures. Within this prophetic authority Paul says that "when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law" (Gal. 4:4). Likewise, the tact that Christ's first coming was grounded in the Old Testament confirms and makes relevant these prophecies which include Christ's New Testament mandate to proclaim His second coming.