We got answers! by RatBurner

I loved the ending and from what i got from it, and looking back at the whole show, it hasnt seemed to be as simply about science vs faith as some have said, in fact i think the show nulled that argument when locke said a few episodes back "maybe this is happening for a reason..." to which jack replies "...i think your confusing coincidence with fate", john says "you can call it whatever you want, but here i am, and i think im ready to get out of this chair"

to me this screams personal acceptance... as christian said in the finale, "let go". science, faith, whatever you believe, doesnt matter because it doesnt make you who you are, it doesnt define your 'spirit'.

Aside from this i cant believe people are saying there were no answers!

They did give us answers, they just used imagery instead of pure dialogue. The information is there we just have to put the pieces together. They told us what the island is. In short, the source of life. And has been represented and alluded by religion as heaven, god, and all that stuff, which is exactly how Richard is spoken to by Jacob about Smokie, "its been called many things, evil melevolance...." etc, which was an open statement saying, there is something bad, something that has been represented in worldly cultures, something unknown and known at the same time. The smoke monster can be called quite literally satan, and Jacob, god. But these are just religious labels, call them what you want, thats the point the show makes.

What i liked the most was the idea of rebirth, which again they openly stated with Jacob and MiB's 'mother'. She told him what the light was "life, death, rebirth" and this fits PERFECTLY with all the connotations the show has presented us over the years. Especially with the black/white symbology, and religious symbology, and with dharma (which is about balance and harmony).

Jack was not just on the island at Jacobs whim. He was there to rebirth the island. To wash away the dirty water so it can start fresh, clean, and reborn. Look at the almost magma looking light and rumblings when the "cork" is pulled out. This could be the idea of an underworld, balanced with an above world, yin/yang again and the cork keeps that balance, that harmony, and smokie was a danger to that universal balance.

So perhaps if smokie had won, maybe the heavnly waiting room we got comfortable calling flash-sideways couldnt exist and everyones souls would be trapped, or just cease.

The island becomes (in religious terms) a proving ground for Jacks life. In fashion of alice in wonderland, it asks the very question, "who are you?" and Jack discovers who he is.

Bear in mind what Jacob explains to Richard about smokie. Richard calling him the devil yet Jacob basically says hes bad, call him what you want, this i think can be applied to all religious connotation on the show..

To steal what Jimmy Kimmel says "Lots of religions, including Christianity have a form of afterlife. The idea is that life is a test, that you go through life, and if you're good you go to heaven, or nirvana or whatever, and if you're bad you don't. You go to hell or dont go anywhere. My theory is that the whole show from beginning to end is your watching Jack's Test, his test. His life on the island was his real life... and obviously Jack passed the test... and maybe each of the characters has their own story and their own test, but this show was Jack's test."

He hit the nail on the head.

The interesting part...

It is extremely universal. Jacks life before the island. The connections with these people he never knew (pre-island). Then he gets these profound relationships with these people on the island. Constantly trying to do the right thing. Goes through his own measure of faith, never decrying science by the way! Thats not the point! The point is that he was being measured who he was, can he do the good thing. He died for the island, his destiny was to rebirth it, that was his purpose, its why the island brought him there. He was measured a good person for all the deeds he had done.

And once he died he can then move on to the next life, rebirth, again...

It is the infinite universe, looping on forever. Death is only a part of life, and then theres something else, and then theres something else, and then theres something else, and so on... Karma.

I always had a liking for the theory that its a loop, and once everyone dies it starts again from the plane crash in the Pilot, episode 1.

Whats interesting is the profound feeling that in some sense this is actually what's happened! Except in a different form. They are in an eternal loop constantly going forward, (so to speak) living, dying, reborn... forever... with these loved and beloved people... Like each life you live is an iteration of ones soul and each time you are reborn/reincarnated, you are a better person for it. Literally KARMA!!

I love it! And it makes so much sense now!

It explains Desmond, Walt and why they were so special. Because they had enlightened/rebirthed/reincarnated more so they could do more things than the other 'normal' people, whether they were aware of it or not. I mean, how else could Desmond have seen his own afterlife?! Or the future? It came from the source of life itself, the island. But they were already 'ahead' of the others.

Like i say, all the answers are there.