Like most Lost fans, I had a difficult time interpreting the mysteries of Lost. But once I realized that Lost was less a science fiction drama, and more a parable about the redemption of lost souls was I able to make sense of it.

The key to “solving” the mysteries of Lost is the spiritual philosophy of Emmanual Swedenborg, who at age 53 began to have visions and dreams of the spiritual world and believed that he could visit heaven and hell and converse with angels, demons, and spirits that inhabited that realm. His best known is Heaven and Hell – the book that I believe was the inspiration for Lost.

One of Swedenborg’s major religious tenets is that one is eternally in heaven or hell (pure spirit) as one was on earth (spirit and physical). Once freed from earthly form, ones soul travels to heaven or hell to live for eternity. Some enter the outer rungs of heaven to work out their spiritual issues in “purgatory” to free themselves of the hell they have created for themselves.

Heaven is organized in rungs – the innermost rungs closest to the light of God, the outside rings furthest from God – in communities of like souls. Hell is below heaven, furthest from God.

A good man is one who of his own free accepts the truth and love of God and translates his faith into good and right action - selfless love of and service to God and his fellow man. A bad man rejects God and believes that he is the center of the universe, clinging to earthly pursuits – wealth, position, power – in denial of God and indifferent to the well being of his fellow man.

Those who are good will someday live in heaven; those who are bad will live in hell, not because God cast them there, but because they choose to live there. Swedenborg wrote that God created Hell, not to punish sinners, but as an act of mercy - to provide those who cannot tolerate the light (truth and love) of God - a place to live out .

I’ve simplified Swendenborg’s theology, but I hope these basic tenets of Siedenburg’s conception of Heaven and Hell will hope you better understand the meaning of Lost.

The main protagonists of Lost are all lost souls, who without intervention, are destined for their place in hell. Lost is the story of their redemption. They cannot work out their issues in the spiritual world because then it would be too late: As one is on earth, one will be in heaven or hell. It is only in earthly form, where one can exercise free will, can redemption can be found.

The crash and the island can be interpreted as a metaphor for divine providence: Swedenborg does not believe in accidents. Swedenborg wrote that the light of God would be blinding to an earthly being, which is why in Lost, the light must be plugged up in the dark recesses of a cave.

I see Jacob as a metaphor for the fragility of man’s soul. He’s the keeper of the light of God, protecting It from the forces of the world that might destroy it. God of course can never be obliterated from the world, but may be driven from an individual soul by the temptation of earthly desires, though the individual has free will to choose good or evil and is ultimately the final arbiter of his place in heaven or hell. Jacob is not immortal, but his purpose lives on, by passing his mission to others who also have faith. Jacob is also a mover of divine providence (a role later taken on by an island inhabitant), protecting the chosen ones, insuring that they make it to the island – and their last chance at redemption.

The Man In Black/Smoke Monster/False Locke (MIB) represents the dark side of man. He chooses to live away from the light (God). Swedenborg has some very insightful and amusing passages in Heaven and Hell which describes what happens when a denizen of hell is exposed to the light of God. When the denizen of hell is exposed to the light of God, he is not able to deny the truth of God’s love; but instead of accepting It, he turns his back, rationalizes the truth away, and rejects God, turning the truth into a lie.

When Jacob tosses MIB into the cave, MIB is exposed to the full intensity of the light of God. The shock is so great and the denial so profound he is transformed into the smoke monster – pure unmitigated evil. His only goal is to get as far away from the light as possible, and to ultimately destroy the light. MIB is so consumed with his hatred of God that he descends into madness, obsessed with what he believes will free him of the light – the donkey wheel.

The Dharma Initiative represents what happens when people defile God by attempting to exploit His truth and love for their own earthly desires and ambitions. The giant polar bears, giant boars, inhumane experiments, and bombs are all results of the travesty and futility of man’s greed and ambition.

What follows is my Swedenborgian interpretation of some of the major protagonists of Lost:

Sawyer – The former conman finds redemption by relinquishing his hated of his fellow man and desire for revenge (though it happens in the afterlife), and embracing sacrifice for others, ultimately finding true love with Juliet

Sayid – The former torturer and hired assassin has given in to despair, and is on the verge of damnation, but redeems himself by sacrificing himself to save those on board the submarine.

Jack – For most of his life before the crash, Jack is an egotistical blowhard incapable of lasting relationships with others, primarily due to his damaged relationship with his father. On the island, Jack clings to his faith in science and becomes de facto leader of the crash victims. Jack finds redemption, not through medicine and science, but through faith and true service to others – by volunteering to become keeper of the light.

Swedenborg writes that each of us has within us our “true self”, created by God, which represents our highest calling. For Jack, his true calling was found through faith and service to others and to God as protector of the light in the cave, not as to the socially prestigious role of doctor (Demigod?), and leader of the crash victims.

Hurley –Seemingly cursed after winning the lottery, Hurley drifts through life without meaning or purpose, addicted to food. Hurley makes it to the island after someone tells him the mystery of the numbers he used to win the lottery can be found in Australia (divine providence!) On the island, he finds purpose and meaning in his life, ultimately becoming Jack’s successor as protector of the island. Swendenborg believed that the condition of one’s soul (and therefore ones’s place in the afterlife) depends on finding a purpose in life in the service of God and one’s fellow man through one’s faith transformed into acts. Hurley was redeemed by finding his purpose in life as protector of the island.

Ben – In the afterlife Ben decides not to go into the chapel with the others, saying that he "has a few things to work out". The afterlife in Lost corresponds to Swedenborg’s conception of purgatory, where one decides his ultimate place in heaven or hell, or can stay to work out spiritual issues. Ben is the only character who decides to stay, as he has to reconcile the bad deeds in his life. Others like Michael and Ana Lucia and irredeemable and are destined for an eternity in hell.

Claire and Aaron – Swedenborg writes that babies who die ascend to heaven to be raised by angels. In the chapel, Aaron is with Claire to be raised as a family with Charlie.

Desmond – Desmond is only person who knows from the onset that the flash sideways world is the afterlife. He acts as a mover of divine providence, jolting their memories of the island, ultimately ensuring that everybody is with their spiritual mate in heaven.

In the chapel everybody congregates with the people who had the most meaning in their life – their fellow crash survivors to form their community in heaven.

The Flash-Sideways world prepares the survivors of the crash for the afterlife, showing them that the spiritual lessons they learned on the island and the love they created stay them in heaven.

The ending of Lost is the classic feel good Hollywood ending, in which the most beloved protagonists end up in heaven. In the Swedenborg world, those who truly loved each other will be forever as one in eternity, and those who were good on earth will ascend to heaven. I’m not sure if Sayid or Ben, both who committed horrible deeds, including murder could ever make it into heaven in the Swedenborg world, but Ben accepts that he has spiritual issues to work out, and Sayid does sacrifice himself to save those on board the submarine, so maybe they do deserve their place in heaven.

A more interesting ending would be to see some make in into heaven, some stay in purgatory and some decide to stay in the hell they have created for themselves on earth.

I hope I’ve at least piqued your interested in Swedenborg. His theology is a good place to start if you want to understand the mythology of Lost. Heaven and Hell is his most well known work, and you don’t have to be religious to enjoy and learn from it.