"Always thought once we crossed over, we would see everyone there"

That is the common Christian belief but even Paul said it isn't true. If only more "Christians" read the Bible for themselves rather than relying on others to do it for them...

Which is the reason I doubt the NDEs wherein the person claims to have been met and welcomed by his/her loved ones who've already died (in this world).

If "we", our egos in this world, weren't illusions it might be more plausible, but our egos are different than our souls, although egos are the only way our souls can "exist" in this world of matter.

Thanks for sharing your insights into soul-vs.-its Egos.

I should add that, several years ago, a dear aunt lost her husband and son and told the new minister of her church that she knew she would see them again in Heaven.

He told her that, no, the afterlife doesn't work that way, her lost family members would not be there waiting for her. Hearing that deeply upset her. That aunt was 87 years old and had been told the false version of Heaven for decades before the new minister took over her church when the previous one had become too ill to continue.

Now, of course the new minister was correct, but I took issue with him taking away the sense of comfort my aunt still had in believing in the Heaven typically taught in Christianity. Yes, he spoke truth, but there are times when spiritual comfort should not be taken from a person who can safely be assumed to not have many years left in this life (and I may be completely wrong about that. She suffered greatly and hearing the truth, imho, didn't help her at that point in this life but did strip away the last veneer of her hope. I'm afraid she no longer accepted death as a reunion with loved ones and I was sad for her.

But happy that her little country church had a new minister who wasn't afraid to speak the truth rather than what he learned in seminary.