Just how many ‘true’ anointed Christians are buried in the catacombs beneath the ancient Rome streets?
This number is crucial to an understanding of the Witness’ teaching that only 144,000 have the heavenly ‘calling’. The Witnesses maintain that this literal interpretation of the number 144,000 means that for the great majority (‘great crowd’) of present-day Witnesses, they are unable to aspire to a uniting with their Lord in heaven. This number of 144,000 was complete, according to the Witnesses, by the year 1935. Most of this number comprise first-century Christians as well as those associated with C T Russell’s Bible Students and early twentieth century Jehovah’s Witnesses. Only a sprinkling of ‘true Christians’ were to be found in the intervening centuries.
Yet the Roman catacombs contain the remains of hundreds of thousands of Christian martyrs from the early Christian church. The book: Christian Rome, Early Christian Rome Catacombs and Basilicas" by Philippe Pergola (Published by Vision S.r.l. (Italy) states: "The oldest concrete evidence concerning the Roman martyrs and the early Roman Christians is preserved in eloquent abundance in the Roman catacombs." The largest of these, San Callista, with nearly 22 km of subterranean paths on 4 levels contains the remains of 500,000 Christians. Other catacombs are San Sebastiano, said to be the temporary home for the bodies of the apostles Peter and Paul , and Santa Domitilla.
Clearly there is a numerical discrepancy between the archaeological evidence and the Witness teaching.
The WTBTS has changed its approach to its ‘understanding’ of what the catacombs represent.
The Watchtower magazine in 1957 ran an article “Testimony of the Catacombs” which included three main sub-headings “Places of Refuge”, “Reflection of Christian Belief”, and “Apostasy”. It stated that “this mode of burial (in catacombs) was adopted by the Christian community, many of whom had themselves been Jews……In some instances those who became Christians opened their property to the use of others of the Christian faith.” The article then states that “prominent (Christian) martyr(s) (were) buried there”.
The catacombs became places of refuge for, as the article states, “During times of severe persecution the endless dark corridors of the catacombs provided places of refuge from the Romans. Because of the Roman feeling of veneration for their dead, places of burial were relatively safe from invasion, even by irate persecutors, and were even protected by law. While the catacombs were not constructed for refuge, but rather for burial, they served both purposes. Even congregational assemblies could be held there with a measure of security.”
Do the catacombs contain the resting places of ‘true Christians’? The article states: “Do the catacombs with their religious art shed light on other Christian beliefs? Yes, indeed, and they witness that much of the present-day dogma of Christendom was not adhered to by early Christians. For example, there were no venerated crucifixes. Even the cross is rarely found.”
“And would we expect it otherwise when the Christians abhorred the idolatrous practices of their pagan neighbors? In fact, this total lack of idols and relics among the Christians is what gave rise to the charge of atheism lodged against them by the Roman world.”
“Prominent among both early and later paintings in the catacombs are the repeated portrayals of scenes from all parts of the Bible. “One cannot look upon these expressive memorials of the earliest Christian art without being convinced that the Church of the first three centuries was not only thoroughly familiar with the Scriptures, and that it completed its collection of the canon at a very early date, but that its mind was imbued with an intense love of the Bible and a perception of an acquaintance with every part as a necessity for every class of believers. . . . The very catacomb rises as a witness against the intentional and continued hiding of the word of God from the people.”—History of the Christian Church, by Hurst.”
The article seems to indicate that the apostasy arrived much later: “Although it has been noted that the catacombs provided places of refuge and assembly during times of persecution, it is now apparent that they did not fall into disuse when the persecution let up. There was a return to the catacombs as places of worship when the persecution ended, but this time for a worship quite different from that practiced by the earlier Christians.”
In more recent times the WTBTS has published a different slant on the catacombs (Awake! 1995 August 8, pages 16-20 “The Catacombs-What Were They?”) This article gives the impression that very few ‘true Christians’ were buried in the catacombs. “It appears that during the first century, Roman Christians did not possess their own cemeteries but buried their dead alongside pagans. Halfway through the second century, when professed Christians had already begun to be influenced by pagan thought, wealthy converts made property available for “Christian” cemeteries.”
And how old are the catacombs? According to the article: “The oldest go back to the middle of the second century C.E., and the most recent to about 400 C.E.” With regard to inscriptions found there, the article states: “Clearly, the “faithful” in Rome were no longer acting in harmony with the knowledge transmitted by Jesus’ true disciples.’
And to ensure that the point has been made, the article re-states this with: “Can these be the remains of true Christianity? Hardly.”
Thus the mathematical integrity of 144,000 anointed Christians is protected. But, is it? What do you think?
Cheers,
Ozzie