What does the order of the metals in the Daniel 2 statue show?
The descending sequence depicts a succession of empires moving from the most precious and expensive to the least. It shows a progression from something great to something less great. Babylon, the head of gold, is followed by an inferior kingdom, an inferiority that is political rather than military.
Les explains that the metals in the statue symbolize empires. The order moves from what is normally considered the most precious and expensive down to the next and then to the least, so the progression is from something great to something less great. Daniel tells the king, “you’re the head of gold,” and then says that after Babylon rises and falls, another kingdom or empire will arise, but it is inferior. Les notes this word “inferior” troubled him: how could an inferior kingdom defeat a superior one? Militarily, he says, that does not happen. Therefore the inferiority is not military strength but political. Babylon’s ruler is an absolute totalitarian dictator whose power is absolute, yet the sequence shows empires rising and falling.