He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. (Revelation 21:4)

The two passages above are speaking of the earth. The first, according to my understanding, is the earth during the thousand-year Kingdom Age. The second passage refers to the new earth that comes into view after the thousand-year Kingdom Age.

But nowhere, according to my knowledge, is there any such description of life in Heaven.

What then do we find in Heaven?

The four-headed cherubim of glory.

The elders worshiping before the Throne of God.

The kings waiting to return to the earth.

Souls under the altar crying for revenge.

People who came out of the great tribulation standing before the rainbow Throne holding palm branches in their hands.

How about the street of gold? This is referring to the new Jerusalem which will be located on the new earth.

The sea of glass laced with fire.

None of the above may appeal particularly to those who are looking to be reunited with their deceased loved ones or to rest in their mansion.

But we have to go by the Scriptures, don't we?

Now read through your Bible and find where you will be reunited with your deceased loved ones in a place of peace and joy. Go back through your Bible and find where those with afflictions will no longer have them after they die. I realize afflictions have to do with our body, but afflictions often have an invisible, spiritual source.

I know of no Scripture that states we will be released from pain or spiritual bondage by virtue of dying. It is true we have been set free from the guilt imposed by the Law of Moses when we die, but this does not mean we have been delivered from spiritual bondage by virtue of dying.

I have just been laying groundwork to this point. What I wish to examine is what does take place in the afterlife, especially regarding Christians.

The passage that started me thinking along the line of what the afterlife really is about is as follows:

But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to men in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit. (I Peter 4:5,6)

Now, think about the above passage for a moment, and also about the passage in the preceding chapter to which it is referring.

For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, Through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison (I Peter 3:18,19)

It is clear that the Lord Jesus Christ after He died on the cross, and before He came forth from the cave of Joseph of Arimathea, went to the prison where people who had drowned during the flood of Noah were kept. He preached the Gospel to them, according to Peter.

Christ had just died on the cross to make an atonement for the sins of the whole world

He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. (I John 2:2)

To be continued.