Here is a helpful snippet from Carl Braaten, a Lutheran theologian whom I admire. This is from his book That All May Believe: A Theology of the Gospel and the Mission of the Church.
The church has never solemnly promulgated an eschatological dogma. Some eschatological sharpshooters claim to know how everything will turn out in the end. I am an eschatological agnostic. There is a Chinese proverb that says, “To prophesy is very difficult, especially with respect to the future.” There is simply no magnum consensus in Christian tradition on how things will turn out in the end.
For those getting hot and bothered about the Rob Bell flap, this might be a useful reminder. In fact, I heartily recommend this book, which is a very readable and balanced discussion of Church, mission, theology and culture. For a bit more detailed discussion, see Braaten’s chapter on “The Uniqueness and Universality of Jesus Christ” in Braaten and Jenson, eds., Christian Dogmatics, Vol. 1, as well as the chapter on Eschatology: The Content of Christian Hope written by Hans Schwarz in Vol. 2 of that treatise.
Schwarz makes a very strong case against universalism: “The origin of the notion of a universal homecoming goes far beyond the Bible and seems to be anchored in a cyclic view of history…. Universalism contradicts the New Testament insistence that our response to the gospel determines for us the outcome of the final judgment” (pp. 575-78). And yet Schwarz notes that, particularly in the descent of Christ into Hell,
Without circumventing the salvific power of Christ, the church evidently affirmed that hope that those also could be saved who had not encountered Christ during their lifetime on earth. Yet it never dared to declare that therefore everyone will eventually be saved, nor did it define how someone could be saved through Christ’s descent. Our reflection today must show a similar restraint. While we fervently hope and pray that all humanity will be saved, we cannot take for granted that it will be so or outline a way in which God will reach this goal. We know that the saved will be saved only for Christ’s sake. (p. 579)
Braaten sounds what is perhaps a more hopeful note than Schwarz:
At this point I often like to quote Gustaf Wingren: ‘That everyone should be saved is not an assertion of fact that has any biblical support. But it is something one can certainly pray for…. No one has arrived. So, while we are in the process of moving toward the goal, we can pray what we cannot assert.’ To let our prayers rhyme with God’s intention to save all is appropriate to faith in the living God who loves sinners and the godless. The salvation of those who do not believe in Christ in their lifetime is ultimately a mystery that we cannot unveil by speculation. Meanwhile, we would not limit our hope born of love and active prayer that God will win in the end.
Perhaps the careful hopefulness of theologians such as Schwarz and Braaten can help us avoid the extremes in our present debates about eschatology.