The truer version of heaven and that other place

In Revelations 4, we see John getting a picture of heaven before his death. He witnesses the magnificence of the Center of all Life. All Life flows out from this Center and without this entity there is only death.

When people think about hell for the first time, most imagine a scene like this.
A man lives a relatively good life, but not perfect. He tries to treat others as he would treat himself. He has a lingering sense of guilt over some things he has done and is sorry he has hurt some people and not lived up to the standard of "perfection".

He dies and stands before God.
God looks at him and says, "Well, you were pretty good overall but we can't excuse these few sins here. I am perfect and require perfection, but because you couldn't attain it (even though you may have tried), your judgement is hell."

Then we see the man on his hands and knees,
"Oh please, Lord! Please forgive me! I didn't mean to do those things! I don't want to go to that nasty burning fire place when there is a beautiful city with gold and pleasure and happiness up there! Please forgive me!"
And God says to him, "Sorry, you had your chance." Then he hits a gavel, and the trap door the man had been standing on gives way, and he falls into that terrible place we all fear.

This is not at all what the real story looks like.
Let's look at this analogy and dissect it.

First, the man.

We sympathize with him because we all are aware that we cannot be perfect. There is no human that lives a life of no mistakes. We thus have a view of God that he is unjust.
"He meant well!" - we may say
But see, this man had no interest in God. He just wanted to be kind and caring to other people. He wanted to be in heaven because the gold was there, because happiness was there. This life is difficult enough, can't we receive even just a bit of happiness after we die?
See, he had no interest in God. He had interest in his reputation with other people and his reputation with himself.

Second, the God.

Everybody knows God has a perfect standard. That is why people think they are "better" than others when they do a "perfect" job. They believe they are closer to the center of what is true, what is right, and what is lovely. They believe they are more "godly".
But the God of this story has no room for mercy. This God treats man worse than we would treat man. If we think God is unjust and we are the one's just, then he wouldn't be God. We would. He would not be "godly", we would be godly. His way would be wrong and our way would be right. Thus this idea of God collapses on itself. He can't be God if we are more right than he is. He would be a tyrant who doesn't get what life is all about (even thought he created it).

Thirdly, heaven and hell.

The reward of heaven is not gold and jewels and gourmet food and the best wine and sunny days et. The reward of heaven is Jesus Christ. The whole doctrine of Christianity is based on that. The idea that we go to heaven to get "things" is not Christian based at all. It's pagan based. Frankly, it's American based. Very few cultures are vain enough to think happiness forever more are in physical tangible objects. (Perhaps happiness for you would be seeing your relatives, but even then your chief interest is in people and not in Jesus). Being with Jesus is the reward of heaven. If you despise and think so flippantly of Jesus now, what makes you think you will enjoy heaven? Heaven for you will not be happiness, it will be terrible!
Hell therefore is not a place where you lack any pleasures, it is a place where you can be everything you wanted to be in this life. Your own god.
But you cannot be your own god and have happiness and joy. Life is only found with the life-source.

So what is the real story?

When we stand before God, we will either be welcomed into heaven or sent to that other place not based on what we have done (because Christians come to Christ as messed up [more frequently even more messed up] as non christians), but based on what we have done with Jesus.

What have you done with the Jesus of the Bible?
Is your heart inclined to him? If so, you will see glimpses or full demonstration of this inclination. You will follow him. You will make mistakes, but there is repentance and forgiveness.
If you have no thoughts of him or want nothing to do with him, what does that say?