Titus 1:2

in hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before times eternal;

In hopes of eternal life ... This is the oldest promise ever recorded, having been given, "before the foundation of the world," "before times eternal," "before the world was," and "before times everlasting," as Paul variously described it. This promise was not made to men, though it pertains to them, but to Jesus Christ our Lord. The consequences of it reach far beyond all of the revolutions of time; it is glorious in its object, that being the eternal goodness and righteousness of its recipients; it is inviolable for God promised it; and it is conditional as this context shows. As Lenski noted, "The Greek has no word for eternal";[12] and as many have pointed out, the meaning is "before the ages began to roll along in their never-ending course."[13]

[12] R. C. H. Lenski, Interpretation of St. Paul's Epistles ... Titus (Minneapolis: Augsburg Press, 1964), p. 892.

[13] William Hendriksen, op. cit., p. 341.