In this chapter we meet the historical figure Antiochus Epiphanes, the eighth king of the Syrian dynasty who was descended from Alexander the Great’s general Seleucus. Antiochus Epiphanes sought to destroy God’s people, the Jews. However, God's people at the end time—both physical and spiritual Israel, the Church—is probably also intended. This section of scripture also appears parallel to the prophecy of the "man of sin" in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, the end-time religious leader "who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God."

Randy D'Alessandro

(1952-2021)

Randy D’Alessandro served as pastor for the United Church of God congregations in Chicago, Illinois, and Beloit, Wisconsin, from 2016-2021. Randy previously served in Raleigh, North Carolina (1984-1989); Cookeville, Tennessee (1989-1993); Parkersburg, West Virginia (1993-1997); Ann Arbor and Detroit, Michigan (1997-2016).