RND wrote:
Historical Premillennialism believes the "antichrist" will appear after a seven year tribulation, and the resurrection comes at the appearing of Christ after a thousand-year reign of the saints, i.e. believers.
This may indeed describe the SDA view, but it does not correctly describe historic premillennialism.
Actually, both dispensationalism and historic premillennialism believe in the tribulation and the Antichrist, but neither place the rise of the Antichrist
after the seven years. His rise is invariably placed either at the beginning or in the middle of the seven years. Also, the appearing (second coming) of Christ is not viewed as occurring "after a thousand-year reign of the saints" (that would be
postmillennialism).
"Dispensationalism" and "historic premillennialism" are two different varieties of the larger category called
premillennialism, or
chiliasm (the latter term was used in the earliest centuries to describe the view, but most modern people use the former term).
Both views anticipate a future tribulation period—dominated by an evil tyrant they call "Antichrist"—followed by the second coming of Christ and a thousand-year reign of Christ and the saints on earth. Both views expect two resurrections: the first, occurring at the return of Christ (at the beginning of the millennium), involves only the saints. The second resurrection, occurring at the final judgment (at the end of the millennium), involves everyone else.
These views both differ from
amillennialism and
postmillenialism in their ideas of what happens when Jesus returns. Amillennialism and postmillennialism do not believe in two separate resurrections, but in one general resurrection of everybody at the coming of Christ. Also, they do not believe in a thousand-year reign after the coming of Christ, but believe that Jesus' second coming will usher-in the New Heavens and a New Earth—that is, the eternal state.
The main differences between
dispensational and
historical premillennialists would be that the former believe in a central role of the people and nation of Israel in the end times, and believe that the Church will be raptured into heaven before the tribulation time begins. Historic premillennialists do not accept these ideas, and believe that the church will not be raptured until the end of the tribulation. They believe that it will be the Church (not Israel) that is persecuted by Antichrist (after all, the term
is "antichrist"—not "antiJew").
Additionally, though both of these groups believe in a future millennium after the return of Christ, they differ in their vision of the millennium. Dispensationalists believe that it will be a time in which the temple and Jewish forms of worship will be restored, and in which the Jewish people will be the prominent race. Historic premillennialists have never imposed these features upon the millennium.
"Historical" premillennialism is so called because many important church fathers, during the first three centuries, held to that view. That is, it is the "historical" view of much of the early church, as opposed to "dispensational" premillennialism, which had no ancient advocates, and was not introduced until 1830.