Put your thinking cap on. You heard it here first - Jacob is the apparition of Ben's dead father or entity that is taking the form of his father (similar to the apparitions of dead people Losties have seen on the island). This entity is one of the original inhabitants of the island, could be one of the many smoke monsters that LOST viewers have theorized can take the form of dead people.
In any event, Ben has figured out a way to trap one - the powder strategically surrounding the cabin acts as some kind of barrier that the apparition cannot cross (the powder is volcanic ash, more on this later). "Jacob" is clearly there against his will as evidenced by when he told Locke "help me". We all know that dead people (or images of them) regularly appear on the island, Jacks dad, Eko's brother..etc... It isn't a stretch to assume that after Ben killed his father he was regularly haunted by images of his dad on the island (he saw his mom also) and it was driving him insane. Ben somehow figured out a way to trap whatever was taking the form of his "father". Ben is tormenting it for all the pain he was caused by his father (blaming his mothers death on him). This falls in line with the daddy issue theme.
Ben invented the idea of "Jacob", in order to assume control over The Others and rule the island. He makes all the new recruits he brings to the island watch those brainwashing tapes to convince them that Jacob is some kind of Savior, even though they never see him. The Others only listen to/and fear Ben because they think Ben is Jacobs right hand man. If they ever found out that Jacob isn't real, in the Savior sense, Ben would lose his power and control over the island.
Don't get me wrong, Jacob is "real", he is just not what Ben has been telling The Others. Jacob is an entity, one of the Island's original inhabitants that can take the form of dead people. Again, there are several of these, we see them in the form of Smoke Monsters. My theory for how the Volcanic ash traps "Jacob" - Remember in Ben's flashback they studied a volcano that the teacher said erupted many years earlier? The volcanic eruption was probably what destroyed the original Island inhabitants (think the 4 toed statue). We know in season 4 the setting will be ancient ruins. So the volcanic substance was the cause of "Jacobs" original death.
Since my hypothesis assumes that "Jacob" is one of the original island inhabitants (smoke monster, apparition, maybe one of the 4 toed statue guys) and was killed by the volcanic eruption it somehow cannot go beyond the volcanic ashes surrounding the cabin. Ben somehow figured this out, probably through observation over time. So Ben has effectively trapped one of them.
Regarding Locke's encounter with Jacob - we know from history that the person whose relative died is the only one who can see it appear on the island. The fact that Locke hears Jacob talk is what freaks Ben out. We can assume that since we saw Jacob (all 11 frames of him) that Locke also caught a glimpse of him. This again confirms that Locke is VERY important and somehow has a connection with the Island. This threatens Ben's power which is why he kills Locke. Ben is "The Man Behind the Curtain" and he has trapped himself one of the Islands Wizard of Oz's
I couldn't find a side view picture of Roger Linus but if you watch the episode their foreheads and noses are nearly identical. See pics below
Compare the forehead and noses of Roger Linus and Jacob - they are nearly identical.
Pic of Ben's Father - http://www.lostpedia.com/wiki/Image:3x20_roger_linus.jpg
Pic of Jacob - http://www.lostpedia.com/wiki/Image:3x20_another_jacob.jpg
Theory by Aaron
In any event, Ben has figured out a way to trap one - the powder strategically surrounding the cabin acts as some kind of barrier that the apparition cannot cross (the powder is volcanic ash, more on this later). "Jacob" is clearly there against his will as evidenced by when he told Locke "help me". We all know that dead people (or images of them) regularly appear on the island, Jacks dad, Eko's brother..etc... It isn't a stretch to assume that after Ben killed his father he was regularly haunted by images of his dad on the island (he saw his mom also) and it was driving him insane. Ben somehow figured out a way to trap whatever was taking the form of his "father". Ben is tormenting it for all the pain he was caused by his father (blaming his mothers death on him). This falls in line with the daddy issue theme.
Ben invented the idea of "Jacob", in order to assume control over The Others and rule the island. He makes all the new recruits he brings to the island watch those brainwashing tapes to convince them that Jacob is some kind of Savior, even though they never see him. The Others only listen to/and fear Ben because they think Ben is Jacobs right hand man. If they ever found out that Jacob isn't real, in the Savior sense, Ben would lose his power and control over the island.
Don't get me wrong, Jacob is "real", he is just not what Ben has been telling The Others. Jacob is an entity, one of the Island's original inhabitants that can take the form of dead people. Again, there are several of these, we see them in the form of Smoke Monsters. My theory for how the Volcanic ash traps "Jacob" - Remember in Ben's flashback they studied a volcano that the teacher said erupted many years earlier? The volcanic eruption was probably what destroyed the original Island inhabitants (think the 4 toed statue). We know in season 4 the setting will be ancient ruins. So the volcanic substance was the cause of "Jacobs" original death.
Since my hypothesis assumes that "Jacob" is one of the original island inhabitants (smoke monster, apparition, maybe one of the 4 toed statue guys) and was killed by the volcanic eruption it somehow cannot go beyond the volcanic ashes surrounding the cabin. Ben somehow figured this out, probably through observation over time. So Ben has effectively trapped one of them.
Regarding Locke's encounter with Jacob - we know from history that the person whose relative died is the only one who can see it appear on the island. The fact that Locke hears Jacob talk is what freaks Ben out. We can assume that since we saw Jacob (all 11 frames of him) that Locke also caught a glimpse of him. This again confirms that Locke is VERY important and somehow has a connection with the Island. This threatens Ben's power which is why he kills Locke. Ben is "The Man Behind the Curtain" and he has trapped himself one of the Islands Wizard of Oz's
I couldn't find a side view picture of Roger Linus but if you watch the episode their foreheads and noses are nearly identical. See pics below
Compare the forehead and noses of Roger Linus and Jacob - they are nearly identical.
Pic of Ben's Father - http://www.lostpedia.com/wiki/Image:3x20_roger_linus.jpg
Pic of Jacob - http://www.lostpedia.com/wiki/Image:3x20_another_jacob.jpg
Theory by Aaron
