What Lies in the Shadow of the Statue - Part 3

Biblical Identities?
One of the biggest questions that we were left to ponder at the end of season 5 were the identities of Jacob and his friend The Man In Black (TMIB). As I mentioned in my previous post (What Lies in The Shadow of the Statue - Part Deux) there has been a heavy influence of Biblical references intertwined within the entire series of LOST. One of the possible ideas as to the identity of Jacob and TMIB is that of Jesus and Satan. Looking back at all we know of them from the season finale there are some definite similarities between what we know of these characters and their biblical counterparts.



Jacob:
Right from the beginning of the episode we were able to see some similarities between Jacob and Jesus that were glaring on the surface. We see Jacob at the beginning of the episode weaving thread and making a tapestry, a task that is usually given to the common folk similar to Jesus being a carpenter. We then see Jacob catching a fish, Jesus was known as a "fisher of men." We also see that Jacob was residing in a cave within the foot of the statue that resembled the tomb in which Jesus was buried in. As far as we know, this is also Jacob's final resting place as he was killed here and kicked into the fire by TMIB posing as "Locke." When we look back at the interactions that Jacob had with each of our Losties, we can see correlations between Jacob's actions and that which we know about Jesus. When he visits Kate in the grocery store he steps in as the store clerk was about to call the police and says, "No need to do that. I'll pay for it." Jacob conspicuously paid for Kate's sin in this situation. When Jacob visited Sun and Jin and their wedding he gave them his "blessing" and when he visited Hurley he told him that he was indeed not cursed but was special and in fact "blessed." The most telling of these visits was when Jacob visited John Locke the day that his father pushed him out of the window. Locke fell 8 floors onto his back and was laying lifeless as Jacob approached him. When Jacob touched John's shoulder, John came back to life, albeit paralyzed but alive.

Looking a little deeper we can see even more comparisons between Jacob and the Biblical Jesus. When "Locke" was leading the Others to see Jacob "Lock" and Ben had a conversation in which Locke was questioning Ben's devotion to Jacob stating that he was "following a man that he had never seen." This is a similar situation for Christians who hold faith in a man that they have never seen. The manor in which Jacob was killed was also similar to that of Jesus' death. In the Bible Jesus was killed when his followers turned on him, Jacob was killed by Ben Linus a former follower who turned against him. There were also two key phrases which lead us to accept the similarities between Jacob and Jesus. There have been a few references in previous seasons to a phrase that says, "God loves you as he loves Jacob." Knowing that God's love for all of his people is equal, and knowing "Jesus loves me this I know," this sentence would make sense if it were "God loves you as he loves [his own son, Jesus]." We were also introduced to a sort of code word this season with the answer to the question, "What lies in the shadow of the statue?" Richard Alpert answered this questions by saying, "Ille qui nos omnes servabit" translated to say "He who will save us all." It has been said that Jesus will return to the earth and save all who believe.

T.M.I.B.:
There is also a distinct correlation between the actions of TMIB and those of Satan. In the book of Genesis, Satan took the form of a serpent and deceived Adam and Eve causing them to turn their backs on the Lord who had provided for them causing them to be ashamed and banishing them from the Garden of Eden. In the past we have seen Ben Linus and Charles Widmore (acting as a sort of Adam and Eve) be banished from the island. We also see TMIB commit his own deception by taking the form of John Locke and deceiving Ben Linus into betraying Jacob and ultimately killing him. We have also learned from podcasts and the "blast door map" that the smoke monster is referred to as Cerberus. In ancient Greek mythology, Cerberus was the three headed dog creature that guarded the gates of Hades keeping those who were sent there in and keeping those from the earth out. This guardian of Hades is also a similar characteristic to that of the devil.

Another Biblical Possibility:
Another Biblical reference that people are suggesting could reveal the identity of Jacob and TMIB could be that of the Biblical Jacob and Esau. Jacob and Esau were brothers who had very different view points and often feuded. Throughout their lives they quarrelled and deceived each other along with their father. People commonly draw to this possibility because of Jacob's name, but again this seems too obvious to be a legit possibility coming from the writers of LOST. For five years now they have shocked us and if this turned out to be true, there would be not shock. Thus I am dismissing this as a possibility.

Conclusion:
Although there are some obvious similarities between these characters on the show and that of Jesus and the devil, it feels like it's too obvious of a correlation to actually come to fruition within the realms of the show. After having millions of fans pour 6 years of their lives into this show, I think that having a strictly Biblical theme as the underlying secret of the show would be a bit too controversial for any mainstream prime time show. I can't completely rule anything out, but I am not putting my chips in this basket.

More to come on Jacob and TMIB, stay tuned!

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