It's Sunday school on Tuesday night for 'Lost' devotees

By Jayme Deerwester, USA TODAY

In past seasons, Lost drove fans to dust off their old college philosophy texbooks to learn about concepts like tabula rasa. In its final season, the ABC mystery (tonight, 9 ET) has found religion, and viewers are searching for answers in the Old and New Testaments. USA TODAY engages in Bible study with Chris Seay, author of The Gospel According to Lost (Thomas Nelson).

Question	Biblical reference	Seay says
Are Jacob and the Man in Black Jacob and Esau, or God and the Devil?	Genesis, Chapters 25-27. Esau was the firstborn son of Abraham's son, Isaac, and his wife, Rebecca. Esau sold his birthright to his twin brother, Jacob, for a bowl of lentil soup. Later, Rebecca helped Jacob, her favorite, pose as Esau to win his dying father's blessing.	"I'm leaning toward Jacob and Esau, especially after 'UnLocke' alluded to his crazy mother. That would be Rebecca, and she showed favoritism toward Jacob. ... And when the Man in Black tells Richard that Jacob stole his body and humanity, he's equating to what (Esau) was naturally entitled to in that culture with his very nature. It's clear that Jacob has an authority over the island that the Man in Black doesn't have. It's a similar kind of tension."
Are the castaways in purgatory or hell?	Matthew 16:13-20. Jesus has a private conversation with Simon Peter and tells the apostle, "You are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it." He also warns Peter not to tell anyone else that he is the Christ.	"I'm in the not-purgatory camp. Protestants don't believe in purgatory. You're either forgiven or you're not. Jacob seems to be saying, 'I'm not the Christ figure, but someone is coming to cover it for you.' I think there is a Messiah coming, and it's not Jacob. I connect him more with Peter, to whom Jesus essentially said, 'I'll build my Church on you and my kingdom will prevail all the way to the gates of hell.' I think the cork (in last week's wine bottle) is the gates of hell, quite literally holding hell back."
What passage was Richard Alpert reading in jail, and why is it important?	Luke 4:1-37. Jesus is tempted by the devil during 40 days of prayer and fasting in the desert and returns to Galilee, where he casts a demon out of a man.	"4:37 is prominent in the Sayid possession story line -- can he be liberated? But I think Richard was reading the first part of that passage, where Jesus goes into the desert and spends 40 days fasting and Satan comes to him and tempts him. It also goes back to the garden of good and evil. And the Man in Black and Richard spoke in a garden-like setting."
Could Richard be a stand-in for Joseph?	Genesis, Chapters 37-50. Joseph, the favorite son of Jacob, is sold into slavery by his brothers and sent to Egypt, where his ability to interpret the Pharaoh's dreams propels him to a powerful position as an adviser. While he is in Egypt, his youngest brother, Benjamin, helps take care of the family's affairs.	"Richard was said to be wearing eyeliner, which was common for the cabinet members of the Pharaoh. There was also an obvious obsession with youth. I think Richard's never aging has something to do with this Egyptian story."
Speaking of Egypt, is the island's giant statue Sobek or Taweret?	No biblical citation.	"I think it's Taweret (the Egyptian goddess of fertility and childbirth). Taweret meant fertility to the Egyptians, but to Hebrews, it was eating their children. Fertility issues have been so important on Lost. The statue resembles Taweret more than Sobek (the Egyptian crocodile god, who was said to be her consort). It's also part of what makes Aaron (one of the rare island births) unique."
What is the biblical significance behind Aaron's name?	Exodus, 4:27 through Numbers 20:22-29. Aaron helps his brother Moses bring about the plagues, serves as the first high priest of the Israelites and works as an intermediary between them and the Pharaoh. But both brothers become impatient in their last year in the desert and are forbidden from entering Canaan.	"Lost's Aaron seems to come to the story much like Moses -- the one child, uniquely saved in a tragic situation, and thus is prepared to be the one to help liberate God's people. If I were guessing on what the finale is going to center on, I would be guessing on a very Aaron-centric episode."