Earth​—Just a Testing Ground?

WHAT a relief! She passed. The student who had gone through a grueling two weeks of exams finally received a gratifying report. She could now move on to the job she had always wanted.

Many people view life on earth in a similar way. They think of it as a preliminary test that all must take. Those who “pass” move on to something better in some form of Hereafter. It would be sad, indeed, if the present life​—a mere existence for many—​were the best humans could expect. Though healthy and prosperous for most of his life, the Bible character Job observed: “Man, born of woman, is short-lived and glutted with agitation.”​—Job 14:1.

Reflecting the thinking of many, the New Catholic Encyclopedia states: “Heavenly glory is the destiny for which God intends man. . . . Man’s happiness can be seen to lie in his possession of heavenly bliss.” A recent Church of Christ survey in the United States claimed that 87 percent of respondents believe that they are likely to go to heaven after they die.

Many non-Christians also hope to depart the earth for a better place after death. Muslims, for example, hope to go to a heavenly paradise. Followers of the Pure Land sects of Buddhism in China and Japan believe that by endlessly reciting “Amitabha,” the name of the Buddha of Unlimited Light, they will be reborn in the Pure Land, or Western Paradise, where they will live in supreme happiness.

Interestingly, the Bible, the most widely translated and distributed holy book in the world, does not present the earth as a place to escape from, a stepping-stone of sorts. For instance, it states: “The righteous themselves will possess the earth, and they will reside forever upon it.” (Psalm 37:29) In the Bible is also found Jesus’ famous statement: “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.”​—Matthew 5:5, King James Version.

The generally held view that our earthly tenancy is temporary implies that death is the doorway to a blissful afterlife. If so, then death is surely a blessing. But do people in general view death that way, or do they try to prolong this life? Experience shows that when people enjoy reasonable health and security, they do not want to die.

Nonetheless, because life on earth is fraught with evil and suffering, heaven is still viewed by many as the only place to find true peace and happiness. Is heaven simply a place of blissful peace, totally immune from evil and disharmony? And is a Hereafter to be only in some heavenly realm? You may be surprised at the Bible’s answers. Please read on.