Many people don't read the word of God rightly. That's why there are learned people that have studied for years and write books in order to assist with understanding.
Everyone should be able to understand the word of God, especially if they continue studying it because God continues to reveal His truths as you continue to seek out His word. If you rely on the teachings of men, how can you know whether or not they are telling the truth? You can't, unless you yourself study God's word and know the answers. In regards to learned people, as you call them, I have been studying for over 40 years, so does that qualify? And being one who has and continues to study the topic of Hell/Hades and the lake of fire, then I understand that punishment in Hell is eternal/everlasting while conscious and existing, just as the scriptures state. This is why I told you that Mr. Tuft who is teaching that Hell is not everlasting, is teaching falsely.
Annihilation/extinction is just not taught in scripture. The translated words "destruction, destroyed or punishment, lost, etc." based on the Greek words that they are being translated from, infers complete loss of well being, ruination, being completely cut-off. According to accumulated scripture, life and death are both states of conscious existence determined by ones state of being in relation to God after the death of the body. As an example, consider the following scripture:
"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to
destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life, and only a few find it."
You see the word "destruction" highlighted in red above? That word is the Greek "apoleia" which is defined as following:
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Strong's Concordance
apóleia: destruction, loss
Original Word: ἀπώλεια, ας, ἡ
Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
Transliteration: apóleia
Phonetic Spelling: (ap-o'-li-a)
Short Definition: destruction, ruin, loss
Definition: destruction, ruin, loss, perishing; eternal ruin.
HELPS Word-studies
Cognate: 684 apṓleia (from
622 /apóllymi, "cut
off") –
destruction, causing someone (something) to be
completely severed – cut
off (entirely)
from what
could or should have been. (Note the force of the prefix,
apo.)
See 622 (
apollymi).
684 /apṓleia ("perdition") does not imply "annihilation" (see the meaning of the root-verb,
622 /apóllymi, "cut off")
but instead "loss of well-being" rather than
being (
Vine's Expository Dictionary, 165; cf. Jn 11:50; Ac 5:37; 1 Cor 10:9-10; Jude 11).
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The word "apoleia" is from "apollumi." If you will look above, under Helps Word-studies, you will see that I have highlighted in red a characteristic of the both the noun "apoleia" and its root verb "apollumi" which state that
"destruction" does not imply "annihilation." The destruction spoken of is complete loss of well being, ruination, to be completely cut off from the presence of God and His blessings. Therefore, wherever you see in scripture the word "destruction, destroy, perish, lost, loss, etc." and the word translated from them is "apoleia, apollumi or olethros, " then the translated word cannot infer annihilation or extinction. These are the three major words used to describe the ultimate destruction of those in the lake of fire, which again does not infer non-existence or annihilation.
That said, both life and death are states of eternal conscious existence, which is defined by an individuals state-of-being in relation to God after the death of the body. Life is eternal conscious existence in the joy of the Lord in the kingdom of God, where death is eternal conscious existence in separation from God in the lake of fire. There is no annihilation or extinction.
This is important and I want you to understand it, because you are supporting someone who is distorting the truth of God's word and you need to know the truth for yourself.
I hope that you will consider what I have posted here and search the scriptures for yourself regarding this subject.