The question of the sleep of the soul, however, does not cause much division among Christians, since it does not affect the fundamental principles of the Christian faith and the salvation of the soul. This problem is simply an arena of theological debate and is not of fundamental importance in the light of the basic doctrines of the Holy Scriptures. The ground for fellowship is not the question of the state of man after death, but faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and in the love that He commanded us to have among ourselves (John 13:34-35). Seventh-day Adventists are not forbidden to adhere to this doctrine, but when someone examines a specific example from the Old Testament, when Samuel talked with Saul (1 Samuel 28:18-19) and the text from the Epistle of the Apostle Paul (2 Corinthians 5:8): "... We are... we would rather go out of the body and dwell with the Lord" or (Phil. 1:23): "... I have a desire to depart and be with Christ, because it is incomparably better," it is rather sad to see that our Adventist brethren continue to preach the idea of a "sleep of the soul."

II. The Concept of Hell and Punishment in the Greek Version

of the New Testament

The grammatical construction of the Greek version of the New Testament undoubtedly teaches about the doctrine of hell and eternal punishment. Nowhere is this doctrine more clearly stated than in the following passages5

1. Matt. 5, 22 and 10, 28 "And whosoever shall say, 'Foolish,' shall be liable to hell fire." "Fear rather him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."

In these two passages, the Greek word gehenna means a place of punishment for the lost. Gehenna was originally associated with the Valley of Chimmon, a garbage dump near Jerusalem that was in constant smoldering. The Jewish priests believed that the punishment after death could be related to this place and often frightened the people with a future punishment after death. The Lord Jesus Christ, however, told Jews who did not believe in Him that those who rejected Him could inherit eternal hell. In Matthew 10:28, the Lord connects the words gehenna and apolesai, which the Greek dictionary defines as "to be sent to eternal torment." Gehenna, therefore, symbolizes the eternal division and conscious punishment of the spiritual essence of the untransformed person. The Old Testament also teaches about this eternal punishment in the Book of Isaiah 66:24: "For their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched."

2. 2 Thess. 1:8-9: "In flaming fire he who takes vengeance on those who do not know God, and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be punished, eternal destruction, from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might."

From the context of this passage, especially in verse 8 about "eternal perdition," it is clear that the "flaming fire" is prepared for all who "do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." The key point in the consideration of this problem is the problem of understanding the phrase "eternal perdition", which, according to Adventists, means a lowering of the state of non-existence ("Questions on Doctrine", p. 14). It is known that the Greek word olethros is used in this case to mean "destruction". (As a more detailed study of this and the following passages from the Holy Scriptures, you can take any of the dictionaries or grammar guides on the Greek version of the New Testament and make sure that it indicates exactly the meanings of the words that we give in this work). Thus we see that "eternal destruction" or "destruction" is the fate of those who do not know God. Many of those who are not very familiar with the Greek language try to assume that the phrase "eternal perdition" is synonymous with the word "annihilation." This violates the order of the Greek version of the New Testament, which does not support such a concept. A multifaceted examination of the Holy Scriptures will show the inconsistency of this assumption.

Suppose that a housewife decided to replace the light bulbs in the apartment and in the course of this work, one of the light bulbs fell to the floor and broke. Of course, the light bulb was "destroyed", but no one can say that it was "destroyed". This can serve as a clear example of the difference between the function of an object and its nature. The functional purpose of a light bulb is to provide light. In the case when the bulb is broken, its function is impaired, but glass, albeit in the form of fragments, and metal parts remain. Therefore, although the light bulb was "destroyed," it was certainly not "destroyed to a state of absolute non-existence."

The Bible teaches that unregenerate people will suffer God's eternal wrath and will be subject to "eternal destruction" and the "destruction" of their basic and natural function of "glorifying God and eternally enjoying His presence." However, the human spirit, created in the image of God (Gen. 1:26-27), remains the intact, spiritual essence of eternal existence, capable of enduring eternal and righteous condemnation.

3. Revelation 20:10: "But the devil who deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and they shall be tormented day and night forever and ever" (literal translation).

The basic meaning of the Greek word basanizo is "to be tormented, to be tortured, to suffer unbearable pain" and is used throughout the text of the New Testament to refer to the great and conscious pain and unhappiness that never goes away or leaves the consciousness. The reader who wishes to examine the meaning of this word in more detail may refer to the following passages from the Holy Scriptures: Matt. 8, 6; Mrk. 5, 7; Lux. 8, 26; Open. 14, 10-11. In each of these passages, the word "dasanizo" means deliberate torture. Revelation 14:10, when speaking of those who worship the beast, clearly refers to torment or punishment that never subsides or passes.