A Vision of the Coming Kingdom

Big Idea: Daniel 7 pulls back the curtain on future world powers, the rise and fall of the Antichrist, and the final, unshakable reign of Jesus—calling believers to live with steady hope and urgent witness today.

Icebreaker

1. When you hear the word “prophecy,” what’s the first feeling or image that comes to mind?
2. Share a time you followed a long-range plan (college major, retirement goal, house project). How did “seeing the end” shape your daily choices?
3. If the nations of our world were animals, which creature would you assign to one and why?
4. What headline or global event this year most made you wonder, “Where is all this heading?”

Focus Material

Primary focus:

• Daniel 7 — Daniel’s vision of four beasts, the “little horn,” and the everlasting kingdom

Key points:

• Daniel 1–6 closes the historical narrative; chapter 7 pivots to Daniel’s prophetic journal of dreams and visions.
• Four simultaneous “beast” kingdoms (lion, bear, four-headed leopard, and a ten-horned beast) picture the global climate from which the Antichrist will arise.
• Out of a ten-nation confederation comes a “little horn” (the Antichrist) who blasphemes God, persecutes believers, and rules for a limited three-and-a-half-year span.
• His mission: unify the world under a deceptive peace plan, including a rebuilt Jewish temple; his ambition: demand worship as God himself.
• Jesus returns, overthrows the Antichrist, and inaugurates an eternal kingdom where “all peoples, nations, and languages” serve Him (Daniel 7:14).
• Prophecy is given not to scare believers but to steady our hearts and stir us to reach the lost while there is still time.

Discussion Questions

1. What details in Daniel’s vision (the beasts, the ten horns, the little horn) stood out to you, and why?
2. How did the speaker connect the shift from Daniel 6 to 7 with the structure of the whole book?
3. Daniel was “troubled” and even became ill after these visions. What does that reaction tell us about the weight of what he saw?
4. The Antichrist promises a global peace that turns out to be counterfeit. Why do you think people are willing to accept false peace—even today?
5. Picture a typical setting this week (work meeting, scrolling news, talking with family). How could remembering Christ’s final kingdom reshape your attitude or choices in that moment?
6. As a group, how can we encourage and help one another to share the hope of Jesus with friends who are anxious or uninformed about the future?

This Week's Practice

Identify one person in your daily sphere who does not yet follow Christ.
• Pray for that person by name each morning.
• Sometime this week, start a natural conversation that opens space to share why your hope rests in Jesus’ unshakable kingdom (Daniel 7:14).
• Jot a brief note afterward about how it went and what you learned.

Busy-week option: Send a thoughtful text or message expressing your prayer and hope to that person, and ask how you can support them.

Prayer Prompts

1. Lord, calm my fears about the future and fix my eyes on Your everlasting dominion.
2. Jesus, draw (name) to Yourself; let them see beyond temporary peace to real reconciliation with You.
3. Holy Spirit, empower our church family to live and speak with urgency, grace, and hope in a restless world.
4. Father, strengthen believers under persecution today who already face the spirit of Antichrist; give them endurance and joy.