After the visions seen by Daniel in chapters seven through nine, Daniel saw the vision concerning the destiny of Israel. However, before we are told of the vision Daniel saw concerning Israel's destiny in chapter eleven, chapter ten shows us the spiritual world behind the physical. For us to know God's economy and to know that in God's economy Christ is the centrality and universality of God's move, we need to see the spiritual things behind the physical.
What we see outwardly is the physical world, but behind the physical world is the spiritual. In the spiritual world Christ is the preeminent One. Therefore, in chapter ten He is mentioned first (vv. 4-9). He is described as wearing a linen robe, being girded with a golden girdle, and having a body like beryl (vv. 5-6).
After this vision of Christ, an angelic messenger came to tell Daniel about the things behind the physical world. He told Daniel that he himself was fighting against the prince of the kingdom of Persia, a rebellious evil spirit. Then Daniel was told that there was another evil spirit, the prince of Greece (Javan). There was also the archangel Michael, who was a prince fighting for Israel. At least four spirits are covered here.
In chapter five we saw how Belshazzar was indulging in debauchery and how in the same night Darius the Mede came to defeat him and kill him. We did not see that there was a spirit fighting for Darius. Daniel 11:1 says, "I, in the first year of Darius the Mede, stood up to support and strengthen him." Darius was strong even as an old man because this heavenly messenger stood up to support him and strengthen him. The angelic messenger strengthened Darius to defeat the Babylonians because the Babylonian Empire's commission from God had been completed. With the death of Belshazzar, the Babylonian Empire became the empire of Medo-Persia to carry out another commission for God.
Darius the Mede was the first one to conquer the Babylonian Empire. However, according to Daniel 8 a ram, signifying Persia, was seen with two horns. The second horn was higher than the first, referring to Cyrus the Persian who assumed power two years later in 536 B.C. In the first year of his reign, Cyrus issued a decree to release all the captives of Israel back to the land of their forefathers and to rebuild the temple. Because Cyrus supported them, supplied them, and protected them, Isaiah said that Cyrus was a shepherd of God to take care of God's people (Isa. 44:28).
Apparently, all of these struggles are merely the activities of human governments represented by the great human image in Daniel 2. Actually, God was behind the physical world managing the entire situation. This is what we need to see as we consider chapter ten of Daniel and the vision of Israel's destiny in chapter eleven.