LOST: The Final Interpretation

Ok Losties. I've heard a dozen interpretations of what Lost was all about. But it wasn't until today that I heard an interpretation that I think really fits, answers all the questions, and the ones it doesn't answer are irrelevant.
First of all, they're all dead. Whether they died in the initial crash, or later on, they're all dead.
Second, the writers lied. The island was purgatory. If you go back to10th century interpretations of purgatory, it fits.
The show was, in a way, a love story. It was mainly about Jack and his friends. There were other groups of people, but they, too, were there serving their penance, including those in the Dharma Initiative.
Each person was flawed. Each person had to finish learning, face their fears and some had to sacrifice their lives for others. Some were looking for their soul mates, some were looking for acceptance, some were looking for forgiveness. All were looking for mercy and love. All of them had to work out their karma before they could move on. And none of them were ready to accept death. If you drank the special water or wine, and agreed to be a "protector," you gained this knowledge.
The island was real, and existed, but only in a spiritual sense. This is why strange things occurred and didn't make sense, and things moved. Even if they managed to leave the island, they really didn't. They had to come back. It was all part of the spiritual experience of purgatory and finishing their penance. Nobody leaves purgatory to go back to earth, to their earthly vessels.
Stay with me here. I'll get to the flash sideways in a minute.
The names and numbers on the cave wall matched up with the numbers on the wheel that showed their lives. I interpret this as the Book of  Life. There were people (souls) on the island (in purgatory) before the "candidates" and there were souls there after them.
Their experiences there did matter. The experiences all of these souls had together, with each other, were the most important experiences of their lives, their spiritual lives, which is what we actually are when you remove the body we temporarily occupy. No one was good or bad, they just were. When people died at the hands of other people on the island, those people were able to ascend. They had completed their penance.
When Mother killed all those people, they were able to ascend. When MIB killed Mother, she thanked him because she could not kill herself. She, too, was serving penance, faced her death, and so she was released to ascend. Because Jacob agreed to be the "protector" which really, more accurately, his job was the house warming committee that helped souls transcend to the other side, he knew the "truth" that the MIB didn't. He knew MIB's struggle to leave the island (purgatory) was futile. But Jacob, still working through his own karma and penance, threw his brother into the light, knowing that this was a fate worse than death. Indeed, Jacob spent lifetimes trying to keep the Smoke Monster in check. When the MIB entered the cave, the light dimmed and MIB's soul was merged with that energy and became immortal. MIB wasn't ready to accept his death, that's why he tried so hard to leave, even as an immortal. The Smoke Monster killed a lot of people, but he, in fact, helped them to move on to the other side. Their penance was completed. The MIB/Smoke Monster lived many lifetimes, too, serving his penance.
When Desmond uncorked the light in the center of the island, the light went out, causing the MIB/Smoke Monster to become mortal again, thus enabling Kate to kill him. Jacob knew all of this. When Jack put the cork back in, the light came back. Everyone who appeared to leave the island then, such as the jet that flew over, had completed their penance.
The flash sideways was the Garden on Earth. The gathering place where they would be raptured away together. Remember, 10th Century interpretation here, not modern day re-interpreted Christianity. Desmond obviously knew and was helping these people realize that they were dead and it was time to gather and go to the light, as they previously agreed to ascend together during their purgatory experience and penance. All those in the church had found love and acceptance, in the end, though not all were paired up. Those that weren't there, ascended in another group. Richard with his wife. Ben just wasn't ready yet.
With this interpretation, I totally understand why the writers never want to write about Lost again. It's completed. Every question that is relevant has been answered. And there's really nothing left to say. In fact, if ABC/Disney wants to do a spinoff, I don't know where they could go with it unless they take us through Hurley and Ben's penance before everyone ascended. The Dharma Initiative is irrelevant. It was just another group's penance.
I know all of you Losties will argue with me, but this is what works for me, and makes the most sense. So this is my story and I'm sticking to it...until I hear a better one.