The Stranger is the Christ in Harrowing of Hell!
The parallel is so obvious. After he was crucified, Jesus descended into hell to proclaim that the damned will be cursed, and the righteous will be saved.
Don't you get it? The whipping of Marshall Duncan was the crucifixion of Christ, and the Stranger is Christ personified wandering through Lago, which is Hell (he even paints it red and inscribes HELL on the signpost!).
1 Peter 3:19–20: (Jesus) "went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits—to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water...."
Read more on the subject here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrowing_of_Hell