When talking about the afterlife, it is really hard, because there is no "afterlife". So much of what we think is normal, factual, things like space and time, are actually irrelevant. They don't exist on that side. And, so, what we have are stories from the lens, from the understanding, of being a human, trying to convey what they glimpsed on the other side.
And, so, i too will try to describe the structures that make this reality possible.
Further, what we think of as normal common sense doesn't apply in higher dimensions. Dying on this side is seen as tragic, something to be avoided at all costs. Many people are devastated when their friends/loved ones croak. However, on the other side, how they see this, it is just like waking up from a dream, or walking through a door, or putting down the video game.
And time doesn't exist. What we experience as time is a bunch of still images on a movie reel. What we consider the past is made up, every now, every still image on the reel. There isn't a past you could go back into. It is literally a story that is fed to you, so you don't think that you came from nowhere.
So, if you try to think of heaven and hell, with space and time aspects, well then you will get quite confused. They don't exist.
Your life review
Many people believe that you get judged at the end of your life. Like, when you die, you go to see St. Peter at the Pearly Gates, where he judges whether you go to heaven or hell.
Well, we are judged, but almost all of us go to hell and heaven. And the confusion is mostly about us thinking that it is one way or the other, for forever. And, it is not wrong, there is no time there, so you are there forever. (or there for no time at all)
You are judged for your life. And, that voice you hear in the back of your head, judging your actions, is one of the judges at your trial.
The big difference is that we think of judging as judgement. Where you will get your just desserts! But, this isn't the case. This is about your life and what where the effects that your life had. You will literally see what happened, from every person's view point. You find out if what you did made another person sad, or happy, or helped them, or hurt them.
You talk with all your peeps about the plans you all made for this life, and how well it turned out.
And then you go to hell!
Everyone goes to hell
The thing is, about hell is that everyone goes there. You must go to hell to burn out all of the sins you did this lifetime and condense your learning down into a single drop. (a single drop is a human term. It doesn't really take up any space, but it does get condensed. It is more of a pattern, an energy pattern.)
Hell really isn't about punishment, although you can see it that way, but you also have to accept that it is self punishment, and it is over when you feel you have completed what you need to do.
(Remember that a sin is something you do that hurts YOUR soul. So, hell is not a punishment against you, it is a process to burn out that awful gunk that you built up in your body.)
So, you will stay in hell as long as you need to, and then you will proceed onto heaven.
Heaven is a rest stop
Some lifetimes (especially on an advanced challenge game like Earth) require a bit of rest afterwards to recover.
And that is what heaven is for.
(Heaven disambiguation: I am not talking about that area that is above the firmament. Nor is it that place we go and worship God for the rest of eternity. - That is really just a story about you getting your earthly-reward, after you die, after living a good life. This dynamic doesn't exist. Life is a game that souls play. It is an immersive experience. And so, the "heaven as reward" is just a marketing gimmick of slave owners "The King", as in The King James)
The part of heaven that matches the bible is that it has levels. And each person goes to a level that is appropriate for them, and it is kinda/sorta based on your "level" of worshiping God. Like, the 3rd layer has streets of gold, and everyone gets up and goes to the center and sings praises to God. (it is exactly what this group of people need, and "singing" is better understood like God "spoke" and the heavens and the earth were formed. It would probably be more apropos to say that "God sung…" because the "words" were very multidimensional, with many chords, very melodic)
So, beings who need it, go to heaven, and sing praises to God, and get rejuvenated. Then they will decide about their next life and how they want to approach it. Then comes life planning, and making arrangements will all the beings you will work with in your next life.
BTW, our heaven, is Earth's heaven. It is part of the Earth's systems. So, you do not go to a heaven of heavens where there are all kinds of aliens and such. It is specifically for Earthlings, and designed to rejuvenate Earthlings from the trials and hardships that are very specific to Earth.
And you will stay their as long as you need to, before you start your new life.
The part that is never painted as the same, but the theme is always the same, is that part where you work out, with all your friends and guides how to set up your next life on Earth.
Many people see this as a bunch of gray offices, with many meeting rooms. And all kinds of people coming and going. But, really, there is no offices, no tables, no computers. But that is how many people describe it. (and the computers are era specific, from the person telling the story)
And, even the language we use there is really not translatable to a spoken tongue.
So "then we will meet in high school, and like each other, and then separate and meet in college, but not the same college…" Includes very specific time paths, and what to do with each pattern that you can imagine, about running into each other. And, we have "words" over on that side that perfectly explain that so that all parties no exactly where and when and how, any why to be at that fountain, in that green, in that campus.
Then you are born, and you "forget" all that, except you don't, and you will be there, and she will be there. But, you have free will, and can change, what you decided, and agreed to, at any time.
What a mess! It is a good thing that we are just the doer in the body, and don't have to remember/calculate all that stuff. To us, it just seems to happen. It was coincidence.