It doesn't make any sense because it isn't rational to begin with.
But it makes sense if one does two things:
1. hold all the rest of existence to be as the light dust of the balance in worth compared to God
2. see what other parts of the Bible say about the troublesome passage in question.
> ... people thousands of generations removed who have no responsibility ...
If you grew up with this stuff, then you already know:
- even without Adam's representation, each of us has already committed the same error of thinking we know better than God, or holding something else as worth more to us than God
- rejecting the idea that someone could represent you before God would include rejecting the offer that Jesus could represent you and take your sentence and allow God to see you with Jesus' record.
From what sentence? Hell isn't part of the old testament and was borrowed from other religions or later inventions after the torah, it was Sheol.
Apparently one can be a corpse and still sense this, for we are not merely flesh and there is no point to such worm or fire if they cannot be sensed.
- Let me in so I can save you.
- From what?
- From what I'm gonna do to you if you don't let me in.