God created time. But before time began, God was doing something. What verb tense would we use to refer to the actions of God prior to the creation of time? The Bible uses verbs in the past tense and present tense to refer to the actions of God before time was created. The Septuagint and the Greek New Testament used the phrases that indicated God doing something else before time began.
Before time/before the ages (pro tou aionos/aionon)
The Greek word aionios (in genitive plural aionion) refers to time that lasts, something that endures for a long time (lasting). It refers to a long duration of a time period (age). The phrase ''pro tou aionos'' refers to ''before the start of time that lasts for an age'' (i.e. age-during) and the phrase ''pro tou aionon'' refers to ''before the start of the ages (many periods of time)''. To simply put, the phrases refer to ''before time began'' and ''before the ages began''.
In Proverbs 8, God ''made'' (ἔκτισέν) Wisdom (v. 22) and ''begets'' (present tense, γεννᾷ)Wisdom (v. 25) ''before time began'' (πρὸ τοῦ αἰῶνος) (v. 23).
πρὸ τοῦ αἰῶνος Proverbs 8:23 LXX ''He established me before time was in the beginning, before he made the earth''. (Brenton's Septuagint Translation)
God made a promise before the ages began:
πρὸ τῶν αἰώνων Psalm 55:19 LXX''in the hope of eternal life that God, who never lies, promised before the ages began''. (NETS, Albert Pietersma).
God himself is King even before the ages began.
πρὸ αἰῶνος Psalm 74:12 LXX ''But God is our king before ages: he hath wrought salvation in the midst of the earth''. (Douay-Rheims Bible)
The crucifixion was something God already had in his mind before time began, when all things were not yet created. This is hidden (unknown) from us. It's a secret that only God has knowledge of but that which God has now revealed to his people by his Spirit (v. 10). Compare 1 Corinthians 2:7 with Romans 16:25 (...the revelation was kept secret during the times of the ages: χρόνοις αἰωνίοις σεσιγημένου)
πρὸ τῶν αἰώνων 1 Corinthians 2:7 ''But we speak God’s wisdom, secret and hidden, which God decreed before the ages for our glory''. (NRSV)
Before [the] times of the ages (pro chronon aionion)
God ''promised'' eternal life to people before time began.
πρὸ χρόνων αἰωνίων Titus 1:2 ''Upon hope of life age-during, which God, who doth not lie, did promise before times of ages''(Young's Literal Translation)
God ''gave'' people grace before time began.
πρὸ χρόνων αἰωνίων 2 Timothy 1:9
''who did save us, and did call with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, that was given to us in Christ Jesus, before the times of the ages'' (Young's Literal Translation)
Before the foundation of the world (pro kataboles kosmou)
πρό καταβολῆς κόσμου/pro kataboles kosmou (before the foundation of the world) in John 17:21 is synonymous with πρό τοῦ τόν κόσμον εἶναι /pro tou ton kosmou einai (before the world existed) in John 17:5. In the former, God ''loved'' Jesus before the creation of all things whilst in the latter, God and Jesus ''shared glory together'' before the creation of all things.
πρό καταβολῆς κόσμου John 17:24''Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.'' (NRSV)
God ''chose'' his people before he created all things. Even when the people themselves did not yet exist, God had already known them and chosen them (see Jeremiah 1:5 wherein God already knew and chose Jeremiah to be a prophet even before he was formed in the womb).
πρό καταβολῆς κόσμου Ephesians 1:4''just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love''. (NRSV)
God already ''knew'' Christ before all things were created.
πρό καταβολῆς κόσμου 1 Peter 1:20''He was destined before the foundation of the world, but was revealed at the end of the ages for your sake.'' (NRSV)
From/Since the foundation of the world (apo kataboles kosmou)
ἀπό καταβολῆς κόσμου occurred 6x in the New Testament: Matthew 13:35 R G; ; Luke 11:50; Hebrews 4:3; Hebrews 9:26; Revelation 13:8; Revelation 17:8)
ἀπό καταβολῆς κόσμου means either ''from the foundation of the world'' or ''since the foundation of the world''.
ἀπό καταβολῆς κόσμου (from/since the foundation of the world) is synonymous with ἀπό κτίσεως κόσμου/ apo ktiseos kosmou which means either ''from the creation of the world'' (KJV) or ''since the creation of the world'' (NRSV) in Romans 1:20. Further evidence for this comes from Hebrews 4:3:
The work (i.e. all creation) is finished since the foundation of the world (τῶν ἔργων ἀπὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου γενηθέντων) Hebrews 4:3
Everything was finished (created) in the past (Hebrews 4:3) and people existed from that time onwards until today. Hebrews 9:26 is saying that Christ was not suffering so long as there are men in the world. Christ only suffered ''once''.
''Nor was it to offer himself again and again, as the high priest enters the Holy Place year after year with blood that is not his ownfor then he would have had to suffer again and again since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the age to remove sin by the sacrifice of himself.'' Hebrews 9:25-26 (NRSV)
The Lamb (i.e. Jesus Christ) slain ''from/since the foundation of the world'' = ἀπὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου/apo kataboles kosmou (Revelation 13:8). Christ slain since the foundation of the world means Christ died when everything was already created (compare Revelation 13:8 with Hebrews 4:3). From that time ( after all creation has been made), the lamb was already sacrificed. The animal sacrifice (especifcally the ''Paschal Lamb'' during the Passover Sacrifice) in the O.T. pre-figures and is an anti-type of the one-time sacrifice of Jesus in the N.T. (compare Revelation 13:8 with Hebrews 9:25-26). It is in this sense that Jesus Christ was said to have been sacrificed ever since the Genesis creation was finished in Revelation 13:8.
