Yes—the pre-flood world had advanced technology, and Les Feldick attributes it to perfect human intelligence, extraordinary lifespans, and a civilization already manufacturing with metals.
Les teaches that Adam and Eve were perfect with tremendous intelligence, and their descendants lived around 900 years, giving them centuries of active life to think, learn, invent, and build. Genesis 4:22 shows Tubal-cain as an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron, placing metalworking at the beginning of human history. With roughly 1,650 years from Adam to the flood, civilization grew to a point where technology—in Les's words—exploded.
Genesis 4:22 — Records metalworking in brass and iron at the very dawn of human history—the first biblical evidence of pre-flood technology.
Genesis 5:27 — Records Methuselah's 969-year life, illustrating the long lifespans Les says gave pre-flood humanity time to develop technology.
Scripture does not give a direct explanation for pre-flood technology, but it sets the stage. In Genesis 4:22, Cain's descendant Tubal-cain is described as 'an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron.' This shows that metalworking—mining ore and manufacturing items in brass and iron—was present at the very beginning of human history, not late in man's development. Genesis 5 also records extraordinarily long lifespans in the generations before the flood: Adam lived 930 years, and Methuselah reached 969 years. Scripture itself does not explicitly connect these long lives to technological growth; that connection is made by Les Feldick in his teaching.
Les teaches that the advanced technology before the flood is explained by a combination of perfect intelligence, long lifespans, and a long stretch of time. Adam and Eve were created perfect with tremendous intelligence, so the early human race was far more capable than we can imagine (Clip 4). With lifespans of 900-plus years—Les cites Adam at 930 and Methuselah at 969—people had extremely long active lifetimes (Clip 5). This intelligence operated within a developing civilization: by Tubal-cain's day people were mining ore and manufacturing items in brass and iron, and Les says that as they began producing things from these metals, technology 'exploded' (Clip 0). The approximately 1,600 to 1,650 years from Adam to the flood gave this civilization ample time to grow, reach a huge population, and develop its technology (Clips 2, 6, 7). Les also points to evidence from a paperback book showing that at some point in the earth's past people had rockets, storage batteries, internal-combustion engines, and spark plugs embedded in rock; he places these discoveries in the pre-flood civilization (Clip 1). Since the flood came instantly and completely (Clip 7), and God later restrained technology until the last 80 to 90 years (Clip 3), this pre-flood technology has not been seen again until our day.
Genesis 4:22 records that Zillah bore Tubal-cain, 'an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron.' Les uses this to show that at the very dawn of human history, according to the biblical account, people were already mining ore and had the metallurgical skill to put brass and iron together. He says they were beginning to manufacture things made from these metals, which caused civilization to bloom and technology to explode.
Les refers to a paperback book that describes technology existing at some point in earth's past: man went into space, had rockets, storage batteries, the internal-combustion engine, and spark plugs found embedded in rock. He notes the book never alludes to Noah's Flood, but he places these discoveries in the pre-flood civilization because such things have not appeared since the flood.
Les says the flood came instantly and completely, leaving no time for escape, which is why there is not much evidence of pre-flood things except in the fossil record. He calls the fossil record 'the only logical way' to understand what happened. He also teaches that after the flood God put the brakes on technology, holding it back until God was ready—an explosion he places in the last 80 to 90 years.
Les emphasizes that Adam and Eve were perfect, with tremendous intelligence, and that the early human race didn't become cave dwellers. From Adam to the flood, people lived up to 900-plus years—Les cites Adam at 930 and Methuselah at 969—and this long-lived, intelligent generation had roughly 1,650 years to develop a civilization. In his view, whatever technology we think is new is not new at all; it has all been here before.
Early Metalworking and Exploding Technology
Les shows that Tubal-cain's role as an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron placed mining and metallurgy at the dawn of human history, and as people began manufacturing with these metals, civilization and technology exploded.
Evidence of Pre-Flood Technology in Rock
Les cites a paperback book describing past technology that includes space travel, rockets, storage batteries, internal-combustion engines, and spark plugs embedded in rock—evidence he places in the pre-flood civilization.
1,650 Years and Tremendous Technology
Les places the flood about 1,650 years after Adam and says that lengthy timeframe saw a planet filled with people and tremendous technology, all without civil government or organized worship.
God's Brake on Technology After the Flood
Les teaches that the eight people who came out of the ark had full recollection of pre-flood technology, but God slowed things down so technology would not erupt again until the last 80 to 90 years.
Adam's Perfection and Intelligence
Les teaches that Adam and Eve were perfect with tremendous intelligence, so the early human race was far more capable than we can imagine—and that intelligence produced a civilization with technology.
Long Lifespans and Technology's Pre-Existence
Les says the generation from Adam to the flood had tremendous intelligence and lived up to 900-plus years (Adam 930, Methuselah 969), making it possible for all of today's technology to have existed before.
1,600 Years, Exploding Population and Technology
Les explains that the natural civilization began to explode in both population and technology over about 1,600 years, reaching a population possibly equal to that of the earth in the early 1970s.
Sudden Flood and Fossil Evidence
Les describes the flood as instantaneous and complete, leaving little time to escape, and says the only logical explanation for the fossil record is the flood itself—which is why so little pre-flood technology remains.
Genesis 4:22: And Zillah, she also bare Tubal-cain, an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron: and the sister of Tubal-cain was Naamah.
This verse is the first biblical mention of metalworking and is the foundational evidence for pre-flood technology.
Genesis 5:5: And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.
Records Adam's 930-year life, which Les cites as evidence of the long pre-flood human lifespans.
Genesis 5:27: And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died.
Records Methuselah's 969-year life, the longest lifespan Les mentions when explaining why technology could develop.
Because Adam and Eve were perfect with tremendous intelligence, their descendants lived about 900 years, and the roughly 1,650 years from Adam to the flood gave a growing civilization time to develop and manufacture with metals. As that civilization grew, Les says its technology exploded.
The Bible records in Genesis 4:22 that Tubal-cain was 'an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron.' It does not mention rockets, storage batteries, or spark plugs; those details come from Les Feldick's teaching based on the evidence he cites from a paperback book.
Les points to discoveries such as spark plugs embedded in rock, along with evidence of storage batteries, internal-combustion engines, and space travel, all from a past civilization. He places these in the pre-flood world because nothing like them has appeared since the flood until recent times.
Les says the flood was instantaneous and complete, leaving no time for people to escape and leaving only the fossil record as evidence. He also says God put the brakes on technology after the flood so it would not erupt again until the last 80 to 90 years.
Watch the Teaching: Who Did Cain Marry? & The Mystery of Enoch (Genesis 4-5 Bible Study)