Which empires did the head of gold, chest of silver, belly of brass, and legs of iron in Daniel 2 represent?
The head of gold represented the Babylonian Empire. The chest of silver represented the Meridian Persian Empire, the Medes and Persians. The belly of brass represented the Greek Empire, and the legs of iron represented the Roman Empire. This follows the Daniel 2 image sequence.
Les explains that Daniel chapter 2 identifies the Babylonian Empire as the Head of Gold, the Meridian Persian Empire as the Chest of Silver, the Greek Empire as the Belly of Brass, and the Roman Empire as the Legs of Iron. He then ties those same empires to Daniel chapter 7, where they are shown as wild beasts—Babylon as the lion and the Medes and Persians as the bear—with the fourth empire pictured as a beast beyond description. In Revelation, he notes, the order is reversed because John sees them looking back, while Daniel saw them prophetically from the start coming down.