An Elevated Ministry

 
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