6. Why does God have to wait until people die to reward kindness and to punish evil? Who can say what happens after death, such as; paradise for people doing good and hell for people doing evil?

Answer: God has ordained the conscience and human government to govern the behavior of the individual and society. Every violation of the moral laws (conscience) or the civil laws (government) will bring about some kind of punishment.

For example if a person steals money from his employer, his conscience will condemn him. There will be no peace in his heart. If his neighbors and friends know about his evil deeds, they will look down upon him, avoid him or treat him badly. If this person violates the laws of the state and get caught, he will be fined or put in jail.

On the other hand if a person continues to do good, there will be peace in his heart. His good deeds will be recognized by relatives and friends, they will treat him nicely. If he does good in the work place and in society, most likely he will be recognized by his supervisor or by a government official and he will receive awards.

Generally speaking there are punishment and rewards according to one's behavior in this life. This is a part of God's government (Rom. 13:1-7)

However neither conscience nor human government is perfect in this world. Some people have a perverted conscience and some societies have unjust government. There are also many deceitful people who get around the law to do bad things. As a result many wicked people seem to be prosperous while the good people suffer. In allowing freedom of will, God permits evil to exist temporarily. (Concerning why God permits bad things, please see the answer in question 2)

But God is righteous and just. His justice will not let evil people to get away without punishment. He will not allow the good people suffer wrongly. He will vindicate them and reward them. The Bible reveals that there is a judgment day. All people will appear before God at the great white throne. The wicked people will be thrown into the lake of fire while the good people will enter God's kingdom. (Rev. 20:11-15)

We know future things through God's revelation. The Word of God (Bible) reveals the future events to us. The fulfillment of many prophecies such as the coming of a Savior, the salvation of many people, the building of Christ's church, the restoration of the nation of Israel, the increase of knowledge in the end time, etc confirms that the revelation concerning future events is trustworthy. (G. Lee)