Why did Nebuchadnezzar build his great image?
Nebuchadnezzar built the great image to centralize all the worship of the world in himself. He intended to amalgamate the world's religions and direct their worship to one great image, thereby focusing devotion on him. This matched his desire to consolidate worship under his own rule.
Les explains that Nebuchadnezzar’s motive was self-exaltation: he thought he could bring all the worship of the world and centralize it in himself by building this great image. This serves as a historical parallel to the future Antichrist and false prophet, who will consort together to do basically the same thing—amalgamate all the religions of the world by making them worship one great image. The false religious leader will cause people to make an image to the Antichrist, just as Nebuchadnezzar did, so that worldwide worship is melded into one object of devotion.