An article I read recently claims that many of the prophesies of Isaiah 10 and 11 (and Isaiah 30:30-31) that traditionally are understood to have been fulfilled by the Seleucid King Antiochus Epiphanes around the time of the Maccabees might instead be prophesies that lie ahead for the Anti-Christ himself. Could it be that understanding the Seleucid King who defiled the second Temple in the second century BC could teach us more about the Anti-Christ?
I believe that much of Isaiah has a dual fulfillment, the first one now historical to us and the 2nd one coming soon in the End Times. Antiochus Epiphanes was one of history’s clearest models of the anti-Christ. Because of him end times believers will know how to recognize the Abomination of Desolation mentioned by Jesus in Matt. 24:15. The Abomination of Desolation that Antiochus erected in the 2nd Temple helped trigger the Maccabean revolt, and is the only time such a thing has ever happened. Studying the historical account of this period gives us a clear picture of how the anti-Christ will cause the Great Tribulation to begin (2 Thes. 2:4, Rev. 13:14-15).