Love Wins

I believe Rob Bell is totally onto something in his book "Love Wins". It is indeed a universalist message, but if "draw all things to myself" means nothing else, it means Jesus intends intends to save everyone. I believe this is the key theological teaching of the Harrowing of Hell which is a mythological feature of the reality of Holy Saturday which had shadows in our creedal statements. Regardless of what it is, there is a psychological experience of Hell here and now and perhaps after death for those unfortunate enough not to be able to forgive and be forgiven. It is most certainly not an external punishment but a fearful holding on to our chains which makes God weep. Thus the harrowing of hell and the preaching to the captives. No one is so far gone under any circumstances that God cannot reach them. Some are very far away indeed which is why the death on the cross and the descend of the underworld are mythologically required to get to them. The Aenead has some similarities in terms of this descent. It is part of the larger dying and rising pattern of Christianity and the "Descent into Egypt" tradition of both testaments. Imagine for a minute of Hell as this awful party where no one will go home at the end of the night. Satan is the bar manager desperately waiting to close up, but he isn't allowed to get anyone out. However the only thing he wants from his own first mistake is to get home. That is a very different narrative indeed. I wonder who more than he would be relieved to Jesus on that Saturday?