The above tells of the condition of the members of the saved nations living on the new earth. If you want any of these delightful circumstances to be true of you, you will have to be on the earth, not in Heaven, to enjoy them.

This is why the resurrection from the dead is of supreme importance to you. The purpose of the resurrection is to bring you back to the earth. And the kind of resurrection you will experience depends directly on how you are living in Christ today.

"But what have you done with my mansion in Heaven?"

The Bible says nothing about mansions in Heaven. This idea comes from a faulty translation of a Greek term that actually means a room or place of abiding.

You do have a "house" that is being constructed for you before the Throne of God in Heaven. This house is being fashioned from your conduct on the earth. But you will not go to this house. Your house will return with the Lord Jesus and clothe your resurrected flesh and bones.

For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. (II Corinthians 5:4—NIV)

"Are there any passages that reveal what it will be like for me after I die?"

There are very few. The Bible is almost silent on our life between death and resurrection. Here are two passages, and you will see they probably are different from what you have pictured.

I answered, "Sir, you know." And he said, "These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore, they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them. Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat upon them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." (Revelation 7:14-17—NIV)

When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. They called out in a loud voice, "How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?" (Revelation 6:9,10—NIV)

Do either of these two passages sound like what you truly desire for eternity? Probably not, if you search your heart.

You were not created to live in the spirit world. The spirit world is for the angels. God does not form you and then spend enormous resources of time and attention to educate you in His ways so you can spend an eternal vacation in the spirit realm. You have an endless life of service and responsibility ahead of you!

To be continued.