@Trailblazer,
Given how inadequately the authors of the Bible depicted their personal beliefs about the afterlife, it's not surprising that Christians have differing views on what happens to people after they die. According to the Christian theological and apologetic websites I read online, the Bible was authored over a period of 1,500 years by forty men, from three continents, and in three languages: Hebrew, everyday Greek (called "Koine"), and Aramaic (an ancient language originating in Syria). And that's not to mention the number of times the Bible has been translated into different languages. I searched online to find out how many English versions of the Bible are now in print, and the results ranged from 50 to more than 60 (see the search results here). With all of that in mind, which Bible should we read? Should we read the Catholic Bible, with a 73-book canon; the Greek Orthodox Bible, with a 79-book canon; or the Protestant Bible, with a 66-book canon? If it's a Protestant Bible, then we have to decide which version is more accurate. Is it the King James Version or one of the other English versions? Or perhaps we should read the Bible in its original languages of Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic to ensure its authenticity?
According to the Bible, God is omniscient (Psalm 139:1–6; Isaiah 46:9–10; 1 John 3:20), omnipotent (Psalm 147:5; Job 42:2; Daniel 2:21), and omnipresent (Psalm 139:7–10; Isaiah 40:12; Colossians 1:17). You would think that a God like that would have done a much better job of inspiring the Bible to be easily interpreted and agreed upon by his followers, but that's obviously not the case with the God of the Bible. And that's why there are multiple versions of the Bible (Catholic, Greek Orthodox, and Protestant, with a plethora of varying English versions). So, God's failure to be more clear with what the Bible actually teaches is why Christianity is vastly divided by Roman Catholics, Messianic Judaism, Anglicans, Orthodox (Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Ethiopian Orthodox, Greek Orthodox), and a smorgasbord of Protestants: Baptist (First Baptist, Second Baptist, Southern Baptist, Reformed Baptist, Primitive Baptist, Anabaptist, Freewill Baptist), Methodist, Lutheran, Pentecostal, Mennonite, Mormon, Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-day Adventist, The Assemblies of God, Church of Christ, Church of God, Church of the Nazarene, Apostolic Church, Presbyterians, Quakers, and literally hundreds of other Protestant churches.
Personally, I think that we should take whatever is written in the Bible with a grain of salt. As far as I am concerned, the Bible is chock full of contradictions, such as the scriptures that claim that God never changes. For instance, Numbers 23:19 states, "God is not a man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said it, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?" And Malachi 3:6 also states, "I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed." However, other verses imply that God changes his mind (Jeremiah 18:5–10; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2), describe God changing his mind (Exodus 32:14; Amos 7:3, 6; Jonah 3:10), or assume that God will change his mind (Jeremiah 26:3; Joel 2:14; Jonah 3:9).
Amos 7:3 "The Lord changed His mind about this. "It shall not be," said the LORD.
Amos 7:6 "The Lord changed His mind about this. "This too shall not be," said the Lord God.
Exodus 32:14 "So the Lord changed His mind about the harm that He said He would do to His people."