2:33 part of iron. The metals of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream image follow a definite order corresponding to the empires they represent, decreasing in intrinsic value, but increasing in strength. That is, gold at the head is the most beautiful and valuable of the metals, iron in the legs is the strongest. These empires decrease in structural likeness to God’s ideal theocratic kingdom, but increase in worldly strength and geographical extent.