There is a very important argument about this man. He ruled over Israel about two centuries before the time of Jesus. He seems to have fulfilled some of the prophecies concerning Antichrist. Certainly his lineage would lead one to think that way. For Antichrist will arise out of the Greek empire. He also desecrated Israel's temple, as will Antichrist.
His very name makes him a powerful type, as he adopted the title of "Epiphanes", meaning "god with us". But despite these striking similarities, he was, and remains, only a type. The real Antichrist was yet future of the days of Jesus, who told us, unmistakenly, of the consequences of his rule, which ends in the Great Tribulation.
Paul warns of his coming and his actions which will usher in the Day of the Lord. Since the Day of the Lord has yet to take place, all the attempts to identify Antichrist are false. He was not Antiochous, or a pope, past or present. He was not Hitler, and so forth.
False teachers try very hard to make prophecies a thing of the past. Many, of course, are. But the end of the days for Israel--the "time of Jacob's trouble"--are yet future. The church will not be on earth to endure them. We will be in heaven (Revelation 3:10).
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