Daniel 10:15-21; ; Daniel 11:1-9
Before we consider the visible aspect of this prophecy, ch. 10 gives us a view of its hidden aspect: the heavenly counterpart of events down here. All the time the great men of this world think they are free, they are really like puppets; they are activated from above by satanic "principalities and powers", which pull the strings, as it were, of their desires (Ephesians 2:2). But God also has legions of angels with their leaders (Hebrews 1:14), and, marvellous fact, we can bring into operation their invisible strength by our prayers, so as to fight the same battles as, and share the experience of Elijah and Daniel that "the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much" (James 5:16).
In ch. 11, God unfolds before His prophet a wide vista of the events about to take place. Three Persian monarchs were to arise: Cambyses II, "Smerdis" the magician and Darius Hystaspes (respectively identified in Ezra 4:6-7; Ezra 4:24). After them, the rich and powerful Xerxes (Ahasuerus of the Book of Esther) would mount a strong attack against Greece. Then would come the rapid rise to power of Alexander the Great (vv. 3, 4), the even more rapid dispersal of his kingdom to the "four winds" (striking illustration of the Book of Ecclesiastes), followed by the long drawn out struggles between his two principal successors.