Hello Mr. Hamilton,<\/p>\n
I was having a conversation with my dad about cemeteries. I suppose I never considered it, but he mentioned that all cemeteries are typically arranged with the head of the deceased facing East. And my dad looked it up, and it said that one of the reasons Christians do it is because it’s believed that during the Second Coming of Christ, He’ll come from the east. So the dead are faced so they will be ready to greet Christ. So, when Jesus comes back, will he come back from the East, or is this just another premillennialist belief?<\/p>\n
Thanks for your time.<\/p>\n\t
While many cemeteries orient the bodies to face east, this practice is not universal. It appears the tradition developed from a misapplication of the Scriptures.<\/p>\n
In speaking about the destruction of Jerusalem and how widely that judgment would be noticed, Jesus said, “For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be<\/em>” (Matthew 24:27). People have taken Jesus’ illustration too literally and assume that he would come from the east. They also applied it to his second coming instead of realizing Jesus was talking about his coming in judgment on Jerusalem.<\/p>\n Jesus also refers to himself in Revelation 22:16 as the bright morning star, which would be in the east. By this, Jesus is saying that he is the fulfillment of the prophecy in Numbers 24:17. Jesus is the light of the world (John 8:12), and the morning star heralds the arrival of the approaching dawn (Proverbs 4:18). Again, people took figurative speech and tried to make literal application of it.<\/p>\n Thus, it is a man-made tradition that self-perpetuates. It is not something required in the Scriptures.<\/p>\n\t Thank you. That makes a lot of sense!<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: Hello Mr. Hamilton, I was having a conversation with my dad about cemeteries. I suppose I never considered it, but he mentioned that all cemeteries are typically arranged with the head of the deceased facing East. And my dad looked it up, and it said that one of the reasons Christians do it is…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[20],"tags":[925,109,907],"class_list":["post-88472","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-customs","tag-death","tag-myths"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":18283,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/where-would-golgotha-be-located\/","url_meta":{"origin":88472,"position":0},"title":"Where would Golgotha be located?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 2, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I was reading an article on your website titled \"The Offering of Isaac\" and had a couple of questions about it.\u00a0 The fourth paragraph says this: The place chosen for the sacrifice was about 50 miles from Abraham's home. It took Abraham three days to reach the place. The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Jerusalem.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Jerusalem.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Jerusalem.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Jerusalem.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":33453,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/where-is-the-land-of-ophir\/","url_meta":{"origin":88472,"position":1},"title":"Where is the land of Ophir?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 20, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: How true is the theory of the Philippines being the land called Ophir as stated in the Bible? Answer: \"Joktan became the father of Almodad and Sheleph and Hazarmaveth and Jerah and Hadoram and Uzal and Diklah and Obal and Abimael and Sheba and Ophir and Havilah and Jobab;\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4019,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/who-dug-numerous-wells-that-were-taken-from-him\/","url_meta":{"origin":88472,"position":2},"title":"Who dug numerous wells that were taken from him?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 7, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I am trying to write a children's book for my nephew based on the account of the Old Testament figure who had his servants dig numerous wells which were taken by the heathens until finally, he dug one they didn't take.\u00a0 Can you help me find the story and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":83613,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-the-patriarchs-know-god-by-the-name-of-yhwh\/","url_meta":{"origin":88472,"position":3},"title":"Did the patriarchs know God by the name of YHWH?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 25, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Did the patriarchs know the proper name of God as \"YHWH\"? Or did He reveal Himself only to Moses and the Israelites? Answer: The name YHWH first appears in Genesis 2:4, so the name YHWH has been known since creation. Abram called on the name of the LORD (YHWH).\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":22194,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-felix-manalo-the-last-messenger-of-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":88472,"position":4},"title":"Is Felix Manalo the last messenger of God?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 5, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good day, I am a member of the Lord's church here in the Philippines, I have a question regarding Isaiah 46:11 and Isaiah 43:5-7. A religious group called Iglesia ni Cristo claims that their \"Sugo\" or messenger, Felix Manalo, from the islands mentioned in Isaiah 24:15; 59:19 and Psalms\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14123,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/who-is-the-bird-of-prey-in-isaiah-4611\/","url_meta":{"origin":88472,"position":5},"title":"Who is the bird of prey in Isaiah 46:11?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 25, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Calling a bird of prey\u00a0from the east, The man\u00a0who executes My counsel, from a far country. Indeed\u00a0I have spoken\u00a0it; I will also bring it to pass. I have purposed\u00a0it; I will also do it. 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