Where do we go when we die?

First, props to The Dude and Hudson's Dad for sharing some of their thoughts on eschatology for all of us. This is clearly a complex issue, so I just want to focus for a moment on one aspect -- location.

NT Wright says Christians misunderstand three aspects of the afterlife: 1) the timing, 2) our physical state, and 3) the location. I think the common cultural response to this week's question would be "to heaven." If you ask where heaven is, people would talk about clouds.

There are certainly a number of verses that indicate that heaven is in fact in the sky. But are the heavens where we will spend eternity as Christians? If theologians like NT Wright are correct and "life after life after death" is spent in a new earth, this has significant implications on how we treat the earth today.

Some verses that seem to indicate a location for our eternal destination other than the sky:

Revelation 21:1-4: "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first
heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw
the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a
bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
'Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and
they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will
wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall
there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have
passed away.'" (Also 2 Peter 3:13 and Isaiah 65:17 and 66:22)

Acts 3:21: "...Jesus whom heaven must receive until the time for restoring
all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long
ago." (Also Philippians 3:20 and 1 Thessalonians 1:10)

Acts 1:11: "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This
Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you
saw him go into heaven."

This topic is relatively new to me, so I feel very underprepared to offer my own interpretation. Instead, I'd love to hear what you guys think. Will heaven come down to earth in the time appointed for Christ to restore all things or will we dwell forever in the heavens? Or both? Or neither?

Do we have a wrong idea of heaven?

In February, Anglican Bishop NT Wright said in an interview with Time Magazine that Christians are wrong about heaven. He specifically rebuts the cultural picture of heaven Maria Shriver described in her book What's Heaven:

"[It's] a beautiful place where you can sit on soft clouds and talk... If you're good throughout your life, then you get to go [there]... When your life is finished here on earth, God sends angels down to take you heaven to be with him."

NT says the Bible teaches that heaven is not a place where we float on clouds as body-less souls listening to music all day; heaven will come down to earth and, with redeemed bodies, we will work the redeemed Creation.

This is a pretty significant claim as I imagine many Christians -- many of us included -- fall into the camp NT is criticizing. Thoughts?