The significance of the Island to the rest of the world by MMS_Lost

One of the biggest questions I've always had on Lost, is why so many people OFF the island (Eloise, Widmore, Ben, etc) feel so strongly about the events happening ON the Island. For example, Eloise' is very fearful about Ben not being able to bring back all of the O6 to the island. She even says 'God help us all' if he didn't succeed. This implies two things: 1) on-island events can drastically affect the whole world, and 2) the purpose of the island goes far beyond the personal redemption for its inhabitants (though I think redemption is still a major theme). The below theory assumes MIB is evil and Jacob is good, FYI:

The Island's purpose is to serve as a prison for MIB. MIB/Smokey poses a serious threat to the world - if he can manifest himself as an invincible smoke monster anywhere in the world, no one in the world can stop him (thus Eloise' 'God help us all' exclamation). Based on its unique properties, the Island is the only place on Earth that can hold MIB.

So how can the island hold him prisoner? I think there are two factors - the ash and time. I remember a twitter message from Damon back in the summer, where he asked ' what do you think the mysterious volcano on the island represents?' I think the volcano produces the ash that weakens Smokey. Why? Just like Superman is weakened by Kryptonite, Smokey is weakened by this unique volcanic ash that is only found on the island. No reason needed.

Another possibility is that the island is uniquely located outside time, and MIB is in a 'time-prison,' that he cannot escape. Regardless of the reason, MIB is a prisoner, and his mission is to escape from prison and cause chaos in the world.

Here is my theory on Jacob's role. He is MIB's jail master, or the one in charge of making sure he never escapes. To help ensure MIB never escapes, Jacob recruits people off the island. He brings the Black Rock folks (with Richard and Dogen on board) to help set up a civilization so all future 'recruits' can have a society to live in, and rules to follow. 'The Others' are what becomes of that society, and Mittelos Bioscience is a front for this recruitment.

But things start to break down - Jacob never talks directly to his people, rather he chooses to communicate via prophets and written words (lists). Mix that with the fact that MIB is free to roam the island (with a few exceptions), and we start to have rebellion & infighting. Hence the battle of Widmore and Ben. I believe that Ben was blindly following MIB the entire time he was leader, THINKING he was following Jacob. I don't think Ben was ever supposed to be allowed to summon the smoke monster, but MIB told him he could. Ben was a victim of deception, and led his people astray because of it. Charles Widmore knows about Ben's deception and sends a team to have him removed from the Island, so MIB would never escape (sharing the same 'God help us all' fear that Eloise has). Widmore was right, because Ben killed Jacob and set MIB free.

Enter the 815ers. Jacob knew the exact time of his death a many years ago (via time travel or prophecy). His death would lead to MIB's possible escape, so he HAS to be replaced as the protector or jail master. He spends 30+ years preparing for September 2004, when an entire plane full of candidates lands on his doorstep. Seasons 1-5 shows us Jacobs' 'vetting' process, and MIB's attempt to sabotage that. Last nights episode shows us that MIB now plans to deceive each candidate to make them think the Island is not special, when it fact it is extremely special.

To sum it up: someone a long, long time ago saw MIB as a major threat, found the Island, and established an elaborate prison system to keep him contained (maybe the Egyptians?). Within this system is a set of rules that prohibits MIB from killing Jacob and all the candidates. Maybe these rules are physical, maybe philosophical, maybe metaphysical. These answers will come soon.