In most cases, the meaning of "before" is pretty straightforward, both as a way of assessing relative time, and in its use meaning "in someone's presence." It takes on a deeper significance, though, when used in connection with the Lord. To be "before" the Lord means not just in His presence, but also receiving the desire for good and the understanding of truth from Him, and living according to them. And when used as an assessment of time in connection with the Lord, "before" means "from eternity," and refers to a spiritual state rather than time as we experience it.

(Referencat: Apocalypse Revealed 366, 617; Arcana Coelestia 6983, 8439, 9888)

4916. 'It happened at the time' means the subsequent state. This is clear from the meaning of 'the time' as the state, dealt with in 1274, 1382, 2625, 2788, 2837, 3254, 3356, 3827, 4882, 4901. 'It happened at the time' plainly means the subsequent state because a description of what happened then follows next. See also 4814.