Kings of the North and South

Daniel chapter 11 continues with the vision he received in chapter 10. Technically, the first verse here shold have been at the end of chapter 10. The angel Gabriel ends chapter 10 by telling Daniel that no one supports him in his protection of Israel except Michael, who is the protector angel of Israel. He will soon go to fight against the Prince of Persia, this is not a literal ruler of Persia, but one of Satan's princes of the earth. In the first verse of chapter 11, Gabriel is the speaker. He has taken a stand to support Darius against the Prince of Persia. As we know, Darius and Cyrus were favorable to the Jewish people and let them return to their homeland and even gave them money to rebuild the Temple. Gabriel is supporting them in their support of Israel. 
11 

¹ And in the first year of Darius the Mede, I took my stand to support and protect him.)

The Kings of the South and the North

² “Now then, I tell you the truth: Three more kings will arise in Persia, and then a fourth, who will be far richer than all the others. When he has gained power by his wealth, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece. ³ Then a mighty king will arise, who will rule with great power and do as he pleases. ⁴ After he has arisen, his empire will be broken up and parceled out toward the four winds of heaven. It will not go to his descendants, nor will it have the power he exercised, because his empire will be uprooted and given to others.
⁵ “The king of the South will become strong, but one of his commanders will become even stronger than he and will rule his own kingdom with great power.⁶ After some years, they will become allies. The daughter of the king of the South will go to the king of the North to make an alliance, but she will not retain her power, and he and his power^[a] will not last. In those days she will be betrayed, together with her royal escort and her father^[b] and the one who supported her.
⁷ “One from her family line will arise to take her place. He will attack the forces of the king of the North and enter his fortress; he will fight against them and be victorious. ⁸ He will also seize their gods, their metal images and their valuable articles of silver and gold and carry them off to Egypt. For some years he will leave the king of the North alone. ⁹ Then the king of the North will invade the realm of the king of the South but will retreat to his own country. ¹⁰ His sons will prepare for war and assemble a great army, which will sweep on like an irresistible flood and carry the battle as far as his fortress.
¹¹ “Then the king of the South will march out in a rage and fight against the king of the North, who will raise a large army, but it will be defeated. ¹² When the army is carried off, the king of the South will be filled with pride and will slaughter many thousands, yet he will not remain triumphant. ¹³ For the king of the North will muster another army, larger than the first; and after several years, he will advance with a huge army fully equipped.
¹⁴ “In those times many will rise against the king of the South. Those who are violent among your own people will rebel in fulfillment of the vision, but without success. ¹⁵ Then the king of the North will come and build up siege ramps and will capture a fortified city. The forces of the South will be powerless to resist; even their best troops will not have the strength to stand. ¹⁶ The invader will do as he pleases; no one will be able to stand against him. He will establish himself in the Beautiful Land and will have the power to destroy it. ¹⁷ He will determine to come with the might of his entire kingdom and will make an alliance with the king of the South. And he will give him a daughter in marriage in order to overthrow the kingdom, but his plans^[c] will not succeed or help him. ¹⁸ Then he will turn his attention to the coastlands and will take many of them, but a commander will put an end to his insolence and will turn his insolence back on him. ¹⁹ After this, he will turn back toward the fortresses of his own country but will stumble and fall, to be seen no more.
²⁰ “His successor will send out a tax collector to maintain the royal splendor. In a few years, however, he will be destroyed, yet not in anger or in battle.
²¹ “He will be succeeded by a contemptible person who has not been given the honor of royalty. He will invade the kingdom when its people feel secure, and he will seize it through intrigue. ²² Then an overwhelming army will be swept away before him; both it and a prince of the covenant will be destroyed. ²³ After coming to an agreement with him, he will act deceitfully, and with only a few people he will rise to power. ²⁴ When the richest provinces feel secure, he will invade them and will achieve what neither his fathers nor his forefathers did. He will distribute plunder, loot and wealth among his followers. He will plot the overthrow of fortresses—but only for a time.
²⁵ “With a large army he will stir up his strength and courage against the king of the South. The king of the South will wage war with a large and very powerful army, but he will not be able to stand because of the plots devised against him.²⁶ Those who eat from the king’s provisions will try to destroy him; his army will be swept away, and many will fall in battle. ²⁷ The two kings, with their hearts bent on evil, will sit at the same table and lie to each other, but to no avail, because an end will still come at the appointed time. ²⁸ The king of the North will return to his own country with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant. He will take action against it and then return to his own country.
²⁹ “At the appointed time he will invade the South again, but this time the outcome will be different from what it was before. ³⁰ Ships of the western coastlands will oppose him, and he will lose heart. Then he will turn back and vent his fury against the holy covenant. He will return and show favor to those who forsake the holy covenant.
³¹ “His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation.³² With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him.
³³ “Those who are wise will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by the sword or be burned or captured or plundered. ³⁴ When they fall, they will receive a little help, and many who are not sincere will join them. ³⁵ Some of the wise will stumble, so that they may be refined, purified and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time.

Now Gabriel tells Daniel the future. There will be three more Kings in Persia before a fourth will rise. This fourth King will be very wealthy (Xerxes). He inherits the wealth of the former Kings. Xerxes will attack Greece and this will lead to the rise of Alexander the Great who will conquer much of the known world. After his death, the empire is broken into four parts and the power of this empire will be diminished. 

The King of the south holds the territory of Egypt, Lybia, Cyrene, Arabia, Phoenicia, Coelesyria, Cyprus, Ethiopia and many cities of Greece (Ptolemies) and the King of the north holds the territory of Syria, Macedonia, Greece, Thrace, Asia, Babylonia, Media all the way over to India (Seleucidae). These two kingdoms are at war for many years. To unite the kingdoms, Berenice the daughter of Ptolemy Philadelphus, King of Egypt is married to Antiochus Theos, King of Syria. The condition for this union was that Antiochus had to divorce his wife Laodice, which he did. Everything was peaceful for a time until Ptolemy died. Antiochus divorces Berenice and remarries Laodice. Laodice wanted her sons to rule, so she poisons Antiochus and has Berenice and her son killed. This act starts the war again.  
Berenice's brother, Ptolemy Euergetes, comes to avenge his sister's death. He was victorious and as the victor, he reclaimed the gods of the Egyptians that had been takes as plunder many years ago. This gave Ptolemy Euergetes the loyalty of the Egyptian people. He would have continued conquering if he had not had to return home to stop an uprising. 
After the death of Seleucus Callinucus who died by falling from a horse, his sons, Seleucus Ceraunus and Antiochus attack the King of the Ptolemais Euergetes and his son Ptolemais Philopater in revenge for the land that had been stolen from them. Ceraunus was poisoned by his generals and Antiochus was proclaimed King. Antiochus was able to regain the territory that was lost and he even brought the battle to Egypt. Ptolemy Philopater, who succeeded his father as King, was incensed and starts war with Antiochus and drives him out of the Ptolemic empire. Instead of pursuing Antiochus and sealing the victory, Ptolemy makes peace with him. Fourteen years later after the death of Philopater, Antiochus attacks with a much larger army, taking advantage of the fact that Ptolemy Ephiphanes, the King was only five years old. Many joined against Ptolemy including Philip of Macedon and many Jews  that revolted from their religion and joined Ptolemy. Scopas, and Aetolian general comes with an army from Ptolemy to fight against the armies of Antiochus and they succeed. Antiochus the Great marshals his armies and defeats Scopas at Judea. Antiochus was now in control of Judea.
Antiochus tried to use his daughter Cleopatra to betray Ptolemy. He proposed a treaty between them with the marriage of his daughter to Ptolemy. This did not work out for Antiochus, because Cleopatra was loyal to her husband and warned him of Antiochus plans. 
Realizing that this plan was not going to work, Antiochus turns his attention to conquering the islands in the Mediterranean and the Romans. Antiochus waged war against the Romans for three years until he was defeated. After his defeat, he returns to his own lands. He attempts to plunder the temple of Elymais, but that causes the people to revolt and kill him.
His son tries to gain plunder not in battle, but by levying taxes. He is killed by his treasurer Heliodorus. Instead Antiochus Epiphanes, a vile man, immoral, lascivious, a drunk and a man of unnatural lusts; also a violent persecutor of the church of God takes control of the kingdom. He assumes the kingdom under the guise of holding it for his nephew Demetrius. Through flattery and bribery he succeeds in taking control of the kingdom for himself. He sends out his armies to overcome all threats to his rule. Onias III was high priest in Egypt at this time, his brother Jason bribed Antiochus to remove Onias and make Jason high priest. Jason sent a priest names Menelaus to Antiochus with his tribute money. Menelaus added some money and bribed Antiochus to let him replace Jason. Antiochus, only caring for the money did so. 
The King of the north comes against the south once more. Ptolemy Philometer, the 14 year old King and son of Cleopatra was approached by Antiochus IV to seek an alliance. The true reason was to take Egypt for himself. He moved through Syria and Judea with a small army and seized Egypt. He took over the richest parts of the kingdom and began to disperse the riches around the kingdom to secure their loyalty. Once he felt that his kingdom was secure, he decided to take Egypt by force. He was able to conquer Pelesium and Memphis. Antiochus was also working within Ptolemy's kingdom. He bribed nobles and men in the King's confidence. This way Ptolemy was betrayed. The people of Alexandria appointed Ptolemy Euergetes,  as King; he was the younger brother of Ptolemy VI. Antiochus IV tried to set the two brothers against each other, but Ptolemy VII tried to smooth things over with his brother and have them unite against their uncle. 
While Antiochus was in Egypt, a rumor arose that he had been killed. Jason, the high priest that Antiochus betrayed, raised an army to attack Jerusalem. Antiochus, upon hearing this, thought that Judea was revolting against him. He marched against Jerusalem killing 40,000-80,000 people. He then raided the Temple and took all the Holy items.
Meanwhile, in Egypt, the brothers have reconciled against their uncle. This causes Antiochus to march against Egypt again. The brothers appeal to Rome for help against their uncle. The Romans demand Antiochus leave Egypt. He is humiliated and leaves, he takes out his humiliation and frustration on Jerusalem where he kills a huge number of Jews that resist him. He stops the daily sacrifice and builds a pagan altar to Zeus over the altar of burnt offerings. To further desecrate the Temple, a pig is sacrificed on the 25th of Kislev. After this Antiochus declares that everyone should give up their beliefs and become one people and worship the pagan gods only. Anyone that was found following Jewish religious practices was killed and any Torah found was destroyed. Many refused to give up their beliefs and were killed. 
This persecution caused the Jews to rebel against Antiochus. This war is described in the book of the Maccabees. This war cost Antiochus a lot of money and he had to try to get additional tribute from his lands. While Antiochus was attempting to seize money from Persia, he left his son and general Lysias in charge of the battle against Jerusalem. After several battles, the Jews were able to recapture the Temple and build a new altar and rededicate it to God. This feast of dedication was to last for eight days and was to be called Chanukah. 
Antiochus was defeated by the Persians and upon hearing of the defeat at Jerusalem he fell ill and died not long after. 
When the gentile nations around Judea heard of their victory over the Seleucids they began to kill the Jews among them. Judas Maccabee went out and defeated those that sought to kill the Jews. After his death, many wicked Jews continued the persecution of the righteous Jews. The appointed time refers to the period of the seventy weeks that Gabriel had told Daniel about which would lead to the appearance of the Messiah.

The King Who Exalts Himself

³⁶ “The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard-of things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been determined must take place. ³⁷ He will show no regard for the gods of his ancestors or for the one desired by women, nor will he regard any god, but will exalt himself above them all.³⁸ Instead of them, he will honor a god of fortresses; a god unknown to his ancestors he will honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts.³⁹ He will attack the mightiest fortresses with the help of a foreign god and will greatly honor those who acknowledge him. He will make them rulers over many people and will distribute the land at a price.^[d]
40 “At the time of the end the king of the South will engage him in battle, and the king of the North will storm out against him with chariots and cavalry and a great fleet of ships. He will invade many countries and sweep through them like a flood.⁴¹ He will also invade the Beautiful Land. Many countries will fall, but Edom, Moaband the leaders of Ammon will be delivered from his hand. ⁴² He will extend his power over many countries; Egypt will not escape. ⁴³ He will gain control of the treasures of gold and silver and all the riches of Egypt, with the Libyans and Cushites^[e] in submission. ⁴⁴ But reports from the east and the north will alarm him, and he will set out in a great rage to destroy and annihilate many. ⁴⁵ He will pitch his royal tents between the seas at^[f] the beautiful holy mountain. Yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him.

In the second part of this chapter refers to the end times. Much of it could be attributed to Antiochus IV, but he was not able to do as he pleases since he was defeated by the Romans, Jews and Persians. This has to be a description of another who will come. Antiochus being a type of antichrist, but this King will be the true Antichrist. 
⁵ The beast was given a mouth to utter proud words and blasphemies and to exercise its authority for forty-two months. ⁶ It opened its mouth to blaspheme God, and to slander his name and his dwelling place and those who live in heaven. Revelation 13:5-6
³ Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness^[a] is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. ⁴ He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God. 2 Thessalonians 3-4
¹² “The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. ¹³ They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. ¹⁴ They will wage war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings—and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers.” Revelation 17:12-14
⁷ It was given power to wage war against God’s holy people and to conquer them. And it was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation. Revelation 13:7

¹¹ I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rideris called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and wages war. ¹² His eyes are like blazing fire, and on his head are many crowns. He has a name written on himthat no one knows but he himself. ¹³ He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God. ¹⁴ The armies of heaven were following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. ¹⁵ Coming out of his mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.”^[a] He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. ¹⁶ On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written:

king of kings and lord of lords.

¹⁷ And I saw an angel standing in the sun, who cried in a loud voice to all the birdsflying in midair, “Come, gather together for the great supper of God, ¹⁸ so that you may eat the flesh of kings, generals, and the mighty, of horses and their riders, and the flesh of all people, free and slave, great and small.”

¹⁹ Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to wage war against the rider on the horse and his army. ²⁰ But the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed the signs on its behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur. ²¹ The rest were killed with the sword coming out of the mouth of the rider on the horse, and all the birds gorged themselves on their flesh. Revelation 19:11-21

Daniel's Vision of a Man

This chapter begins after Cyrus has signed the decree that returns the Jews to their homeland. We know that Daniel either returned with the Jews or retired from public service and remained in Babylon.  In Daniel 1:21 And Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.  It is not made clear whether he has returned to Jerusalem or stayed in Babylon. In any case, the signing of the decree was not the end of Daniel's visions.

10 In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, a revelation was given to Daniel (who was called Belteshazzar). Its message was true and it concerned a great war.^[a]The understanding of the message came to him in a vision.

² At that time I, Daniel, mourned for three weeks. ³ I ate no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips; and I used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over.
⁴ On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris, ⁵ I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. ⁶ His body was like topaz, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude.
⁷ I, Daniel, was the only one who saw the vision; those who were with me did not see it, but such terror overwhelmed them that they fled and hid themselves. ⁸ So I was left alone, gazing at this great vision; I had no strength left, my face turned deathly pale and I was helpless. ⁹ Then I heard him speaking, and as I listened to him, I fell into a deep sleep, my face to the ground.
¹⁰ A hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. ¹¹ He said, “Daniel, you who are highly esteemed, consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you, and stand up, for I have now been sent to you.” And when he said this to me, I stood up trembling.
¹² Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. ¹³ But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia.¹⁴ Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come.”
¹⁵ While he was saying this to me, I bowed with my face toward the ground and was speechless. ¹⁶ Then one who looked like a man^[b] touched my lips, and I opened my mouth and began to speak. I said to the one standing before me, “I am overcome with anguish because of the vision, my lord, and I feel very weak. ¹⁷ How can I, your servant, talk with you, my lord? My strength is gone and I can hardly breathe.”
¹⁸ Again the one who looked like a man touched me and gave me strength. ¹⁹ “Do not be afraid, you who are highly esteemed,” he said. “Peace! Be strong now; be strong.”
When he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, “Speak, my lord, since you have given me strength.”
²⁰ So he said, “Do you know why I have come to you? Soon I will return to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I go, the prince of Greece will come; ²¹ but first I will tell you what is written in the Book of Truth. (No one supports me against them except Michael, your prince.

In the third year that Cyrus ruled, probably around 534-533 B.C. Daniel receives a vision of a great war and the meaning is also shown to him. At the time, Daniel had been in mourning and fasting from meat and wine or pampering his body. It is not clear why Daniel is mourning, it could be that he was soul sad because of his previous visions and all they stood for. It could be because though the Jews had been given permission to return to their land, their were probably issues from the Babylonians and from the other people that had been settled in the land by Nebuchadnezzar. 
On the 24th day of Nisan or Aviv, the first month of the Jewish calendar, in our calendar this usually falls around March or April. Daniel was standing on the banks of the Tigris river, he sees a man dressed in linen and gold. Daniel describes his face like lightning and his eyes like flaming torches, his arms of bronze and his voice sounding like a multitude of voices. We can assume that this man was the angel Gabriel.
Daniel must have been with other people, but he is the only one that sees the man. The others felt terror and ran and hid, so Daniel was left alone. Daniel lost all strength and felt helpless before the angel, as Gabriel spoke to him, Daniel fell into a deep sleep. Gabriel touched Daniel and told him that he has been sent to Daniel. He tells Daniel not to be afraid, that he had been sent to respond to Daniel's prayers. Gabriel tells Daniel that he had been detained by the Prince of Persia for twenty-one days until Michael came to help him. He was not delayed by a physical person.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  Ephesians 6:12
Now Gabriel tells Daniel that he has come to tell him what will happen to his people in the future. Daniel bows to the ground in anguish because of the vision, after Gabriel touches Daniel's lips, Daniel explains that he has no strength and can barely breathe.  Gabriel speaks and tells Daniel to be strong and Daniel is strengthened.  He then tells Daniel that he will soon return to fight against the Prince of Persia, and when he leaves the Prince of Greece will come. Before he goes he will tell Daniel what is written in the Book of Truth. He also says that no one supports him against these Princes except Michael, your prince. Michael is seen as the guardian angel of the Jewish people and therefore would aid Gabriel in fighting for them.