Jacob is Ahura Mazda, MIB is Ahriman by Jonah

I believe the characters of Jacob and the MIB are based on the religious entities known as Ahura Mazda and Ahriman. They are a bit of a composite from several views of these entities but I believe there are many parallels. They were locked in an ongoing battle of good and evil. Below are just quotes about them and then how I think they connect to Lost:

“There were 2 twin brothers Ahura Mazda, was the supreme god, and chose to be good, while Angra Mainyu (Ahriman) chose to be evil. They were the children of the first principle, Time. One (Ahura Mazda) is the product of love and desire, while the other (Ahriman) is the result of a moment of doubt. Ahriman is born first and assumes the birth rite. In this way Ahriman was Ahura Mazda's brother, and they each held equal sway over the world. All things in Zoroastrian have free will and choose whether they want to be good or evil.”

This goes along with the idea of free will. We are going to see that everyone in our group has had the choice or will have the choice to choose to be good or evil. That they have both sides inside of them but that they can ultimately overcome whichever side they choose to overcome.

“In Mazdaist traditions, in the beginning there were two spirits, Ahura Mazda and Ahriman. These two spirits were separated by a void. Ahura Mazda was thought to be characterized by goodness, light, and he was unlimited in time but not in space. He was free of all evil, and does not create or willingly tolerate evil. Ahriman was represented as evil and limited by time because he knew eventually Ahura Mazda would defeat him, and he was also limited by space.”

I believe in this same way that Jacob is not limited by time and possibly not by space, that he’s been able to move freely and see freely. That is why he knows his own death is coming and prepares this group for that potential. It’s why he knows that something is coming to the temple and is going to destroy what’s there and that is why he moves Jack and Hurley away from there. He seems to know the future while the MIB on the other hand is very limited. He’s constantly looking for a new body and begins quickly to feel the limitations of that body. He doesn’t know what’s going to happen or if he does, then he knows it because Jacob told him what the end will be and he just refuses to believe it, thus the line, “It always ends the same way.” MIB “It only ends once everything else is just progress” Jacob

“Ahura Mazda wanted to free himself from his own limitation in space, but he knew that by doing so, he would have to initiate a struggle with Ahriman, which he did not want to do. In time, though, Ahriman saw a light across the void and envied and lusted for it. He then created the evil things of this world to fight against the good things Ahura Mazda created. Ahura Mazda offered Ahriman peace if Ahriman would worship the good things Ahura Mazda created, but Ahriman refused, and Ahura Mazda showed Ahriman his inevitable fate. Ahriman was stunned and fell into the void for a period of time. When he awakened, he engaged in war with Ahura Mazda, which Ahura Mazda won and finally destroyed Ahriman.”

I believe that Jacob started this struggle with the MIB, thus the reason he continues to bring people to the Island in an ongoing battle of good and evil. I believe the battle for the Island is the battle for the world. I think that the MIB is sick of playing games and wants the battle to be over once and for all so he can take his place as ruler of the world. He’s not completely lying when he says he wants to go home, because the Island isn’t exactly a part of the world, it’s been separated and because he’s stuck here he feels trapped. He wants to be set free to rule over his home, our world.

Ahriman was said to have also attempted to maim the divine prophet Zoroaster (Possibly Richard Alpert) and battled with him to get him to renounce his faith, but the prophet resisted the temptation and affirmed that he would never do the bidding of Ahriman. Just like we saw a portion of in The Candidate.

“Eventually, Ahriman will be defeated by the coming of a Saoshyant or Saviour. Ancient texts refer to three great souls who are designated to be Saoshyants. The third of these will destroy evil and bring forth the reign of righteousness. The coming is referred to in the Farvardin Yasht, which says he will be the son of Zarathustra and will be conceived through a virgin called 'the all-destroying'. He will be assisted by his friends, who are fiend-smitting, well-thinking, well-speaking, well-doing, and whose tongues have never uttered a word of falsehood”

I believe Jack is the last of these 3 great souls but possibly John. It’s possible that John’s mother, while driven crazy, wasn’t lying about his immaculate conception. Maybe Anthony Cooper wasn’t really his father, but someone who slept with his mother at some other point. It seems a bit strange of a lie to make up just to try and show someone is crazy. But I still lean towards Jack. And who doesn’t fit the role better of the well thinking friend than someone like Hurley. The ultimate side-kick in the destruction of evil.

“After this, the world will be restored, the dead will arise, and life and immortality will come.
"With the disappearance of evil from the universe, good will prevail everywhere and for all time; and the accursed name of Angra Mainya will be forgotten. Ahura Mazda will be for ever, even as he has been from all eternity" (Yasht xix.11,12).”

The world will be restored, as Hawking has told us since Season 3, Desmond not pushing that button and therefore our beloved Losties not crashing on that Island will mean the death of us all. Complete destruction of the world has been prophesied about in Lost Mythology since we were first introduced to the Hatch. Kelvin was right they were saving the world, they needed to push that button long enough to bring that plane down and by doing so the world will be restored, the dead will rise and evil will disappear from the universe. There is a lot of dead rising and while I have trouble believing the end of Lost will mean the end of evil, I’m not completely opposed to it either. Just my thoughts