LOST - season 6

[Vivi]

I'm sure there are a few Lost fans floating around.
So far I have reached season 6 episode 9 where finally some things have been inconclusively revealed.

The show feels like it's been slowly ambling along until now, and even though Richard's backstory has been one of the more interesting so far, if this turns out to be

Spoiler:

a good vs evil thing, with a little religious mumbo jumbo thrown in, I will feel a little disappointed.
Things that are "explained":
-Richard (angry and confused that Jacob has been killed) has told his Lostie group that they are dead and that they are in hell.
-Jacob has told Richard that the island is more like a cork, stopping the evil swirling out from the bottle.
-Jacob cannot bring people back from the dead or absolve their sins.
-Jacob also told Richard that he brings people to the island to prove that they can make good choices without interference.
-Richard has been granted eternal life by Jacob, after being shipwrecked on the island in the 19th century.
-Smokey (as the Man In Black) told Richard that Jacob was the devil and needed to be killed.
-Smokey has said that he just wants to go home.
-Richard gets his as* handed to him on a platter when he tries to stab Jacob, whom then dunks him in the ocean a few times and confirms he is actually living.
-Jacob has denied being the devil. Claims Smokey to be the bitter and angry one.
-Hurley speaks to Richard's dead wife, and passes on the message that Smokey is the devil.

What?!

It still feels a little tacked on to me at this late stage in the series. There are gaping plot holes if this turns out to be the sole explanation (which hopefully it isn't). What interests me, which has not been explained so far, are the strong Egyptian references in the show.
Consider:
- The broken statue is the Egyptian fertility goddess Tauret, destroyed by the Black Rock on a tidal wave. Being able to give birth here seems to be a long term problem.
-The Egyptian hieroglyphics in the hatch on the time panel.
- Egyptian hieroglyphics in the temple's secret passageway.

There have even been theories flying around how the island is actually Eden, which some evidence points to. But so far I'm getting strong vibes of Stephen King's "The Stand".

Any other theories or opinions on the show so far? Please share.