This chapter gives the most detailed of prophecies. It has historical fulfilment largely in the second century BC, but also prefigures the time of the end. There are many who say this must have been written in the second century BC, but such people don't believe in the possibility of predictive prophecy and if this was the second century book then much of it is little more than a charade. I will assume it was written by Daniel at the time it claims to be written.
Verse 2 refers to several kings who were to come in the Persian kingdom. Three then four is common Jewish idiom and does not necessarily indicate a precise number. Eventually the kingdom would attack Greece.
The mighty king who would do as he pleases is Alexander the Great. However, his empire was soon broken up and not inherited by his sons.
The king of the south is Egypt. There will be intrigue and arranged marriages,
We may wonder what is the point of all this? Why do we need to know? God's word is set in historical context, it contains real events. Things happen in our own lifetime, national and international events over which we seem to have little control. We wonder what, if anything, God is doing. These chapters show us that God is the Lord of history. He is the Lord of what is happening in our own nations.
However, later verses will show most clearly that this does not mean there is nice "God intervened and everything was OK" scenario. The road ahead is much rockier than that.
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