What was the Bema seat in the Olympics used for?
The Bema seat in the Olympics was a raised platform where judges sat to determine who won first, second, and third in the races. More broadly, it was a place where a person in authority would make a decree or hand out a judgment.
Les explains that the Bema seat was a raised platform, about 12 or 18 inches high, like the one in ancient Corinth. In the Olympics, the seat of the judges was a raised platform where the judges would determine who won first, second, third in the races, and so forth. He also says the Bema seat was simply a place where the person in authority would make the decree. This connects to II Corinthians chapter 5, where Paul uses the term.