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Recently, someone made the
observation that at our meetings, we have no reserved seating, no
elevated platform and no special seat for the Pastor or the elders.
In fact, just by observation of our seating arrangements, one could
not differentiate the leaders from the followers. Everyone sits
together.
It has been said
before, and it is quite true, that whomever you set before a people
on a regular basis, the people will eventually look to that person
for guidance and direction. That is why it is so important to keep
Christ ever before the people. It is He that we must always lift up,
and never ourselves.
Don’t exalt the preacher, don’t exalt the pew,
Preach the Gospel simple, full and free;
“And I, if I be lifted up from the earth,
Will draw all men unto Me.”
Where did the
concept of an elevated ministry originate? As with so many things
in the Institutionalized Church, you can trace and elevated platform
and reserved throne seating to early pagan worship, who ultimately carried it
over to Christianity.
What you see, is
what you get! Many times, the things we can observe with the natural
eye among a group of people, are merely symbolic of things going on
in the spiritual realm among the same people. When we see an
elevated ministry in the natural seating of a “church”, we can be
sure that this same ministry is spiritually elevated among the people as well.
Either by their own doing, or by their particular religious
hierarchical system, or by the will of the people.
Below is a
picture of the statue of pagan god Zeus. The massive gold statue of
the king of the
Greek
gods was built in honor of the original Greek Olympic games, which
began in the ancient city of Olympia. The statue, completed by the
classical sculptor Phidias around 432 B.C., sat on a jewel-encrusted
wooden throne inside a luxurious towering temple overlooking the
city.
Many of the
pagan gods were seated on thrones and housed in temples where the
people would come bow down before them to worship them.
Below is a
picture of St Peters Throne in the Vatican, complete with pagan
myth artwork. Can anyone in their right mind imagine Peter the
apostle sitting in such a idolatrous pagan monstrosity and ruling
over the saints? This is the same Peter that said in 1Peter 5:1 The
elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder. He
viewed himself as no one special, but rather equal with the other
elders.
As further
evidence of the pagan influence behinds this Roman Catholic
cherished throne, directly under this enormous structure are the
corpses of dead Popes! For the past 1,700 years, most of the Popes
have been buried directly under the throne and altar in a vault the
Cardinals call the "City of the Dead". This practice was a
continuation of the pagan tradition of burying dead kings in the
pagan temples. The Romans followed exactly in the Egyptian
footsteps as the Pharaohs in Egypt who were idolized and mummified
in the Valley of the Dead. So also are the Pontiffs in the City of
the Dead. Think about it…. the church services are held directly
over the corpses of the Popes, with the “big guy” sitting in his
“big seat”!
This idea of a
throne for the elevated ministry is not restricted to merely the
Roman Catholic Church. The Orthodox Church carries the same
traditions of having an elevated ministry. For example, see the
picture below of the Orthodox Patriarch seated in his throne.
But neither does
it stop there. Nearly every Protestant church has an elevated
ministry with a reserved platform seating area for the religious
élite. Sometimes they are referred to as Clergy, Ministry, Bishop,
Reverend, Dr of Divinity (DD), Preacher, and Pastor. No matter what the
title, the spirit of elevation is most always present. Only rather
than have an elevated throne that sits over dead bodies, they sit
before the dead! Their spiritually dead congregants.
Below are
pictures of a few Protestant churches. Ever notice how the seating
in Protestant churches is always centered around the elevated
platform area? Ever notice how there is reserved seating for the
religious elite in nearly every church?
The typical
church usually has a special seat, and in some cases a crushed
velvet high back seat, reserved for the “big guy”. And in many
places, his “Cardinals” accompany him!
Clearly, the
origin of elevated seating is idolatrous pagan worship and when
practiced in Christianity, is symbolic of an unscriptural hierarchy
structure. King Jesus had no place to lay his head, let along sit in
an exalted earthly throne! He lived among the common people. Walked
among the common people. And sat among the common people. And when
He entered the Temple, He usually got kicked out by the religious
leaders of His day. He would be (and indeed is) absolutely repulsed
at the idolatrous worship and pagan traditions being performed in
His name in the Institutionalized Church today.
With regard to
reserved and elevated thrones seen in today’s churches, I think His
view can be easily summed up in the actual occurrence described in
Mark 9 and 10. Here, the disciples had been disputing among
themselves about who was the greatest, each wanting to be the top
dog on the religious totem pole. A couple of them even got bold
enough to ask Jesus if they could have reserved and elevated thrones
on His right and left side in His Kingdom. Jesus took a small child
and placed him in their midst. He told them that if any man desired
to be first, he should instead seek to be the last and strive to be
servant of all.
I
have yet to see a lowly servant sitting on an elevated throne!
Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness
of mind let each esteem others better than themselves.
- Philippians 2:3
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