"If"... you are assuming this to be the case, but the Bible makes no such statement. The wages of sin is death. It does not say eternal death, nor eternal suffering in the lake of fire. God told Adam that if he ate the fruit of the forbidden tree, in that day he would die. They died spiritually the moment they ate, although it took 900 years for the body to fail, too. All humanity is born spiritually dead, which is why when Jesus was asked by a potential disciple if he could delay and attend a family member's funeral, Jesus told him, Let the dead bury their dead, but you follow me.
Because Jesus was sinless both at birth (which means he was the first man born spiritually alive) and throughout his entire life, it was not possible for him to die. Therefore, on the cross it took the sins of the world placed upon him for him to die.
Hebrews 9 tells us:
Heb 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
Heb 9:28 So Christ was ...
The book of Zechariah paints a picture of Christ facing judgment after dying on the cross. Contextually, of course, Joshua was the high priest during the rule of Zerubbabel, but symbolically it transposes to the future of Christ when he was judged in Hell. By the way, Hell is not the place of punishment, the Lake of Fire is. Hell is jail. No one is justly punished before they face trial. God is much more just than mankind. But, like your assumption, it is based upon tradition to think punishment occurs in Hell. Those in Hell who reject Christ now, are awaiting the White Throne Judgment, then they will be thrown into the Lake of Fire. But I digress from Zechariah.
Let us consider the passage in chapter 3.
Zec 3:1 And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.
Jesus is our high priest. Symbolically, Jesus stood next to the angel of the LORD who was his advocate, whereas Satan stood by to accuse him.
Zec 3:2 And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?
The LORD (the angel of the LORD), on behalf of the Father, rebuked Satan implying that he had no case since Jesus was a brand plucked out of the fire, or exempt from punishment.
Zec 3:3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel.
Zec 3:4 And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment.
Filthy garments are a picture of the sins of the world placed upon him that did not belong to Jesus since he was innocent of sin. The change of raiment refers to the glory of his success and promotion as the High Priest.
Zec 3:5 And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD stood by.
The gift Christ gives to all mankind, if they will accept it, is the freedom to judge our own selves guilty of sin, circumventing the need for trial and judgment after death. When we are born again, we become spiritually alive, which is the new birth, or being born-again.
There is, of course, a judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor. 5) that all believers must face when we shed these mortal frames.
2Co 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
An account of our lives must be given before we receive our rewards and determination of our place in eternity. It is not a judgment for salvation. No one at the judgment seat of Christ need be concerned about being thrown into the Lake of Fire.
The Lake of Fire is the Second Death. The White Throne Judgment begins with one point: they are there because they rejected the free gift of life in Christ. They were born spiritually dead and preferred to remain spiritual dead, therefore they get their wish, their death will be magnified.
When the body dies and is buried, it decomposes. Decomposition is the result of consumption by worms and bacteria and oxidization. Oxidization is also called rust when speaking of metal. Jesus said about those in Gehenna (figurative speech regarding the Lake of Fire) that the worms never die and the fire is never quenched. The second death is everlasting decomposition.
Jesus paid the price for death. He died both physically and spiritually, which is why he cried out, My God, My God, why have your forsaken me? At that moment he spiritually died, and like Adam, his physical death manifested afterwards. Your question has given you trouble because your premise is wrong.
. So you need to question what you mean by "eternal life" and provide a definition for the discussion.
