What do the legs, belly, chest, and head of Nebuchadnezzar's image represent?
In the prophetic image, the legs of iron represent the Roman Empire, the belly represents the Greek Empire, the chest represents the Median-Persian Empire, and the head of gold represents Babylon. These empires are pictured as successive Gentile powers, and remnants of them continue in the present age.
Les explains that the stone cut without hands crushes the image and moves upward over the legs, which were a picture of the Roman Empire; over the belly area, which pictured the Greek Empire; over the chest, which pictured the Median-Persians; and over the head of gold, which pictured Babylon. He identifies these as the Gentile empires that had touched Israel. He also notes that all vestiges and remnants of those empires are still with us today, giving examples such as banking, interest, and usury originating in ancient Babylon, and much of our culture coming out of the Median-Persian Empire. The feet of iron mixed with clay he connects with the Revived Roman Empire and the ten toes.