Well, the book says he was there before the elves came to middle earth. It also says that he was there before the Dark Lord rose to power. Everyone assumes Tolkien was talking about Melkor, who was one of the ainur. So, that means he was there before even Illuvatar created the ainur. So, in that sense he is like death. He was there before everyone and he will be there long after everyone.

Well thank you kind anon. I wish I could thumb you up more. I love Lord of the Rings. It is a passion of mine. I spend lot's of time on www.glyphweb.com/arda/ just reading about the history and the lore. I am about half way through The Silmarillion and am loving it. I wish it got a lot more recognition. It is a beautiful book.