Biblical Epoch Dates Duration
i. Ark-building AM 1536 – AM 1656 120 years
to Flood building Ark - the Flood
ii. Moses’ baby-ark AM 2433 – AM 2553 120 years of Moses’ life
to Promised Land
iii. Tabernacle desolation AM 2881 – AM 3000 120 years (include year of Eli’s death)
to 1st Temple’s foundation death of Eli – temple foundation
iv. Josiah’s ascension 539 BC - 520 BC 120 years (include year of Josiah’s ascent)
to 2nd Temple’s rebuilding Josiah’s ascent – Darius’ rebuilding
v. Josiah’s holy war 628 BC – 509 BC 120 years (include year of Josiah’s war)
to Esther’s holy war Josiah’s war – Esther’s war (II Chr.34:3; II Kgs.22:3; Est.9)
vi. Josiah’s death 608 BC – 489 BC 120 years (include year of Josiah’s death)
to Jerusalem’s resurrected walls Josiah’s death – Nehemiah’s wall
vii. Xerxes I death 465 BC – 345 BC 120-ish years (age 16 was Alex’s 1st ascent)
to Alexander the Great (11 years old) [“4th king” – “mighty king”] (Dan.11:2,3)
viii. Abomination of Desolation (Menelaus) 171 BC – 51 BC 120 years
to Julius Caesar’s conquests [end of “3rd head of leopard” – “4th Beast” ascending] (Dan.11:31,7:7,20)
ix. Julius Caesar conquers Gaul 50 BC – 70 AD 120 years
to Rome conquers Jerusalem “Sea Beast”/“10 horns” ascent – “Babylon” destroyed
x. Jesus’ Ascension 30 AD – 45 AD (15 years) 120 is the triangular multiple of 15.
to Paul’s 1st Gentile mission 120 were in the Upper Room at Pentecost.
--------------------------------------------------
120 = 144,000 / 1200 (Firstfruits Church)
120 = 40 x 3 (3-fold generation)
Daniel 11:1-2 mentions five Persian rulers:
1. Darius the Mede (same person as Cyrus the Persian)
2. Cambyses à start of the “three more kings” (Dan. 11:2)
3. False Smerdis
4. Darius I (Esther’s king)
5. Xerxes (485 BC – 465 BC) à “the fourth” (Dan.11:2) is richer and will stir up all of Greece
Xerxes attacked Greece, which years later provoked the conquest of Alexander the Great.
In the Bible there seems to be a correlation of events that occur within three sets of generations (3 x 40) of each other. I’ve showed this chart outline before, yet now I’ve added of epochs, and may do so in the future if need be.
Notice that Josiah’s ascension, war, and death all have a corresponding event 120 years later. He was the last righteous king to be enthroned in Judah, the last righteous “anointed one” of his era. 120 years after his ascension to the throne, King Darius authorizes the full rebuilding of the temple (Ezra 2:24). There’s a 120 year gap between the ascension of righteous Josiah and the righteous act of Darius.
The holy war of Josiah unified the northern and southern kingdom for time, restored true worship, and reinstituted the Passover (II Kgs.22-23). 120 years later, after Esther wisely achieved Haman’s hanging, the Jews were enabled to defeat their enemies (Esther 9) and established the feast of Purim.
Josiah’s godly character was the agency of God’s protective force for Judah. Upon his death (608 BC), the prophet Jeremiah had prophesied that the 70 years of Babylonian Servitude were to begin. It was 120 years after 608 BC that Nehemiah would finish erecting the protective barrier of Jerusalem’s walls. Both of Josiah’s protective army, and Nehemiah’s protective walls were outward demonstration of their Godly character.
In 50 BC Julius Caesar had just finished winning the Gallic Wars. The next year he was declared dictator and assassinated in 44 BC. He was the first of the ten horns in Daniel 7 and Revelation 13. 120 years after Caesar defeats the Gauls, Rome destroys Jerusalem.
Also, 120 years before Julius Caesar won the Gallic Wars, the Jewish High Priest committed the Abomination of Desolation (Dan.11:32) by giving stole temple treasures to Antioch Epiphanies IV. This was the end of the era of the “3rd Head of the 4-Headed Leopard” (Dan.7 & 11) to the time of Caesar’s ascension.