I think that the Smoke Monster is the ancient Egyptian God, Anubis. Anubis, the half human, half jackal god protected the dead and escorted them into the afterlife after weighing their hearts(judging them)to determine their worthiness for entrance into the realm of the dead. In Egyptian mythology, Anubis is always depicted in black symbolizing rotting flesh and the color of the black soil in the Nile valley.
Jacob is a biblical reference to Jacob's ladder, a stairway or gateway into heaven that Jacob saw in a dream/vision from God. Jacob's ladder extended from heaven down into the place where Jacob slept. Angels would use the stairway to enter heaven. Recent references on the recent podcast about Jacob being 60' tall and made of flames may allude to the possibility that this is indeed, a physical structure, stairway, or gateway.
Jacob's Ladder has been cut off from the island by since arrival of Anubis. Anubis was somehow transported to the Island as part of the Black Rock cargo, which had been in Africa.
Anubis controls the Smoke Monster, and can project visions of dead people to influence and control his agedna. Anubis/Smoke monster projected an embodied Alex just after Ben was judged. This means that Christian and Claire (who must be dead) are also Smoke Monster projections being used to manipulate the other characters.
Ben lives in fear/awe of the smoke monster, and does whatever the Monster says. He can communicate directly with the SM. For decades, Anubis has been manipulating his "false prophets", speaking on behalf of Jacob who he has somehow trapped or imprisoned.
The others may be Angels, stranded between heaven and earth, waiting for Jacob to open the gates to heaven. Anubis has cut them off from the gateway, and has created false prophets (Ben, Widmore, Alpert) so that they will blindly follow their leaders in the name of Jacob.
The whispers are the whispers of the dead, who can be beckoned by SM/Anubis.
Walt's psychic projections are not from Anubis. Walt has a special psychic gift and can "astral project" visions of himself or other thoughts when he feels strong emotions. His psychic gift is similar to Miles, but is not under the control of SM/Anubis. People born with gifts may have been influenced or enhanced in utero by the island somehow, but they are not under the direct control of the SM.
Research Notes from wiki:
Jacob and Esau: sibling rivalry.
Jacob and Esau are the twin sons of Isaac and Rebecca. The boys displayed very different natures as they matured. "Esau became a hunter, a man of the field, but Jacob was a simple man, a dweller in tents". John Locke reflects Esau, the Hunter, and Jack represents Jacob, but only symbolically.
"Rebecca received the prophecy that twins were fighting in her womb and would continue to fight all their lives, and after they became two separate nations. The prophecy also said that the older would serve the younger; its statement "one people will be stronger than the other" has been taken to mean that the two nations would never gain power simultaneously: when one fell, the other would rise, and vice versa."
"Anubis was the god to protect the dead and bring them to the afterlife. He was usually portrayed as a half human, half jackal, or in full jackal form wearing a ribbon and holding a flail in the crook of its arm[5]. The jackal was strongly associated with cemeteries in ancient Egypt, since it was a scavenger which threatened to uncover human bodies and eat their flesh[6] The distinctive black color of Anubis "did not have to do with the jackal [per se] but with the color of rotting flesh and with the black soil of the Nile valley, symbolizing rebirth."[6]"
"Anubis is depicted in funerary contexts where he is shown attending to the mummies of the deceased or sitting atop a tomb protecting it. In fact, during embalming, the "head embalmer" wore an Anubis costume. The critical weighing of the heart scene in Book of the Dead also show Anubis performing the measurement that determined the worthiness of the deceased to enter the realm of the dead (the underworld). New Kingdom tomb-seals also depict Anubis atop nine bows that symbolize his domination over the foes of Egypt.[3]"
Jacob is a biblical reference to Jacob's ladder, a stairway or gateway into heaven that Jacob saw in a dream/vision from God. Jacob's ladder extended from heaven down into the place where Jacob slept. Angels would use the stairway to enter heaven. Recent references on the recent podcast about Jacob being 60' tall and made of flames may allude to the possibility that this is indeed, a physical structure, stairway, or gateway.
Jacob's Ladder has been cut off from the island by since arrival of Anubis. Anubis was somehow transported to the Island as part of the Black Rock cargo, which had been in Africa.
Anubis controls the Smoke Monster, and can project visions of dead people to influence and control his agedna. Anubis/Smoke monster projected an embodied Alex just after Ben was judged. This means that Christian and Claire (who must be dead) are also Smoke Monster projections being used to manipulate the other characters.
Ben lives in fear/awe of the smoke monster, and does whatever the Monster says. He can communicate directly with the SM. For decades, Anubis has been manipulating his "false prophets", speaking on behalf of Jacob who he has somehow trapped or imprisoned.
The others may be Angels, stranded between heaven and earth, waiting for Jacob to open the gates to heaven. Anubis has cut them off from the gateway, and has created false prophets (Ben, Widmore, Alpert) so that they will blindly follow their leaders in the name of Jacob.
The whispers are the whispers of the dead, who can be beckoned by SM/Anubis.
Walt's psychic projections are not from Anubis. Walt has a special psychic gift and can "astral project" visions of himself or other thoughts when he feels strong emotions. His psychic gift is similar to Miles, but is not under the control of SM/Anubis. People born with gifts may have been influenced or enhanced in utero by the island somehow, but they are not under the direct control of the SM.
Research Notes from wiki:
Jacob and Esau: sibling rivalry.
Jacob and Esau are the twin sons of Isaac and Rebecca. The boys displayed very different natures as they matured. "Esau became a hunter, a man of the field, but Jacob was a simple man, a dweller in tents". John Locke reflects Esau, the Hunter, and Jack represents Jacob, but only symbolically.
"Rebecca received the prophecy that twins were fighting in her womb and would continue to fight all their lives, and after they became two separate nations. The prophecy also said that the older would serve the younger; its statement "one people will be stronger than the other" has been taken to mean that the two nations would never gain power simultaneously: when one fell, the other would rise, and vice versa."
"Anubis was the god to protect the dead and bring them to the afterlife. He was usually portrayed as a half human, half jackal, or in full jackal form wearing a ribbon and holding a flail in the crook of its arm[5]. The jackal was strongly associated with cemeteries in ancient Egypt, since it was a scavenger which threatened to uncover human bodies and eat their flesh[6] The distinctive black color of Anubis "did not have to do with the jackal [per se] but with the color of rotting flesh and with the black soil of the Nile valley, symbolizing rebirth."[6]"
"Anubis is depicted in funerary contexts where he is shown attending to the mummies of the deceased or sitting atop a tomb protecting it. In fact, during embalming, the "head embalmer" wore an Anubis costume. The critical weighing of the heart scene in Book of the Dead also show Anubis performing the measurement that determined the worthiness of the deceased to enter the realm of the dead (the underworld). New Kingdom tomb-seals also depict Anubis atop nine bows that symbolize his domination over the foes of Egypt.[3]"
