1. Read Daniel 10:1-3. Daniel has been in exile for decades, and God has even begun sending Israelites back to the land through Cyrus. Yet Daniel is still in mourning and anguish. Why do you think he is so troubled even after God's promises have begun to be fulfilled?

  2. Have you ever experienced a moment when something you hoped would fix things — a change in circumstances, a              leader, a new opportunity — didn't actually resolve the deeper pain or chaos you felt? How does Daniel's situation                  resonate with that experience?

  3. In 10:12-13, the angel explains that "the prince of the Persian kingdom" resisted him for 21 days. This is not a human ruler        but a demonic power behind the empire. What does this teach us about the nature of the conflict we are caught up in?

   4. Read Ephesians 6:12: "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." How does this                 passage help us interpret what Daniel sees in his vision?

   5. The text suggests that demonic forces work by taking things that are good — like political structures and rulers — and           twisting them into instruments of chaos and opposition to God. How does this connect to the imagery in Daniel 7-8,              where empires are depicted as ravenous beasts?

   6. Why do you think God has chosen to place humans at the center of his cosmic plan, even though the spiritual forces           at work are so much more powerful than we are?

   7. Chapter 11 describes in overwhelming detail the rise and fall of empires, wars between north and south, political                    marriages, and rulers who exalt themselves above all gods. What effect does reading this chapter have on you? Why          do you think God gave Daniel such a detailed vision of political chaos?

   8. Read Daniel 11:36. This describes a king who "will do as he pleases" and "exalt and magnify himself above every god."             The New Testament speaks of "antichrists" (plural) rather than just one. How does this shape the way we recognize               and respond to rulers and movements that exalt themselves as ultimate?

   9. If political structures are not inherently evil but can be "weaponized" by the forces of darkness, how do we hold                       together the call to invest in our world and seek justice while refusing to place ultimate hope in any ruler, party, or                 nation?

   10. Read Daniel 12:1-3. After all the chaos and suffering described in chapter 11, what is the ultimate hope that God gives              Daniel? What does the promise of resurrection mean for those who are enduring the present darkness?

   11. Read Daniel 12:13. God tells Daniel to "go your way till the end" and promises that he "will rise to receive your allotted               inheritance." What does this call to faithful waiting look like for us as we live between Christ's first and second coming?

   12. In Daniel 12:4, Daniel is told to "roll up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end." In Revelation 5, John                sees a scroll that no one can open — until the Lamb who was slain is found worthy. How does Jesus fulfill what Daniel            was waiting for?

   13. The vision ends not with a human solution to the world's chaos but with the promise that God himself will act —                      raising the dead and bringing in an everlasting Kingdom. How does this shape the way we engage with the fears,                  conflicts, and political turmoil of our own day?