You are mixing modern science’s timeline of Earth with Jain cosmology of the whole loka (universe). Let’s separate them clearly.

1. Did souls and “gods” (devas, siddhas) exist “4 billion years ago”?

In Jain Dharma:

• Soul (jiva) is anādi (beginningless) and anant (innumerable). There was never a time when jivas did not exist. ( jainknowledge.com)
• The universe (loka) is also anādi – it is not created at some point in time. ( jainknowledge.com)
• So even if Earth was lifeless 4 billion years ago (as science says), countless jivas were still existing:

- in other continents and regions of the Jain cosmos - in heavenly worlds (devalok) - in hells (narak) - in microscopic forms (nigod)

• Siddhas (liberated souls / Gods in Jain sense) also are an eternal category: whenever a jiva attains moksh, it remains forever at Siddhaśilā. There have always been some siddhas; they don’t start or end with Earth’s life history. ( jainknowledge.com)

So: Yes, souls and siddhas/devas existed even when Earth did not have life, because Jainism talks about the whole eternal universe, not only this planet or this particular age.

You can read a simple explanation of universe and trilok here .

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2. “If life was not there, then no karma would have bound – so did they all get moksh?”

Key Jain points:

1. Karma-bandh (bondage) is also anādi (beginningless). There is no first moment when a previously pure soul “started” binding karma. ( jainknowledge.com)

1. Life was never totally absent in the entire loka.

- At most, a particular planet or region might not have suitable conditions. - But in Jain cosmology, somewhere or other in: - upper worlds (devas), - middle world (various continents, oceans, other regions), - lower worlds (narak), there are always living beings. ( jainknowledge.com)

So the idea “no life anywhere, so no karma” does not arise in Jain view.

1. Moksh is individual, not “automatic.”

- A jiva gets moksh only when it: - stops new karma (saṃvar), - sheds old karma (nirjarā), - and finally destroys all karmas. ( jainknowledge.com) - This happens by Right Faith, Right Knowledge, Right Conduct – not just because of some cosmic empty period.

1. Therefore:

- It is not that “once there was no life so no karma, so all souls were in moksh.” - Instead: jiva + karma + loka are all beginningless. Some jivas are wandering in saṃsār, some have attained moksh and stay forever as siddhas — this has always been so.

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3. Summary in very simple words

• Jainism does not accept a first moment when life began or when souls started.
• Souls, karmas, and the universe are all eternal, beginningless realities.
• Even if Earth was once lifeless, countless other places in the Jain universe still had living beings and karma bondage going on.
• Moksh is never automatic for all souls at once; it is achieved individually by spiritual effort.
• So: Gods and souls did exist, and no, it is not that all were in moksh due to absence of life, because from the Jain view, life (jiva) in the universe is never completely absent.