Jacob (Devil) vs MiB (God) by ESQuire

I noticed in "LA X" in John Locke/ManInBlack’s speech to Ben inside the statue after Smoky issued the beat-down to Bram and his buddies that John said he had “good news” for Ben and the rest of them. This struck me as slightly odd. Seeing as I don’t think the writers would put something like that in the show without it having a deeper meaning, I think it may turn out that John/MiB is the “good guy” and Jacob turns out to be the “bad guy.”

Use that framework when you think about the conversation at the beginning of Season 5’s finale (“The Incident”) where MiB and Jacob are on the beach with the Black Rock slave ship approaching offshore.

I’ll put the names in the following dialog [from Lostpedia] as I think they are now. See what you think.

ManInBlack (God): Morning.
Jacob (Devil… former right-hand man/arch-angel of God): Mornin'.
God: Mind if I join you?
Devil: [Shaking his head] Please. Want some fish?
God: Thank you. I just ate.
[God sits down not far away.]
Devil: I take it you're here 'cause of the ship.
God: I am. How did they find the Island?
Devil: You'll have to ask 'em when they get here.
God: I don't have to ask. You brought them here. Still trying to prove me wrong, aren't you?
Devil: You are wrong.
God: Am I? They come. They fight. They destroy. They corrupt. It always ends the same.
Devil: It only ends once. Anything that happens before that is just progress.
[God stares at his compatriot.]
God: Do you have any idea how badly I wanna kill you?
Devil: Yes.
God: One of these days, sooner or later... I'm going to find a loophole, my friend.
Devil: Well, when you do, I'll be right here.
God: Always nice talking to you, Jacob.
Devil: Nice talking to you, too.

Recall the Book of Job where God and the Devil disagree about how God’s followers will react if their lives weren’t so great. The Devil says God’s followers will flee Him/forsake Him in the face of adversity/bad-times. And they proceed to pile the crap on Job. This is a similar conversation/situation.

Also recall why God sent Jesus to Earth. God thought His people had strayed, that they were basically evil and hopeless. This is similar to the story on the island. Will the people show themselves worthy of God’s Kingdom? Or will the Devil win again?

One more quote/scene/reference to further this God/Devil tango:
Ben asks Locke/MiB why Jacob let Ben kill Jacob. Locke/MiB says: “Because he knew that he’d been beat.” This instantly struck a chord in me. It echoes a line from Charlie Daniels Band “The Devil Went Down to Georgia.” The line goes
“The devil bowed his head because he knew that he'd been beat.
He laid that golden fiddle on the ground at Johnny's feet.”