text: maranatha ( millennium ) " ' maranatha " is the twenty - first episode of the first season of the american crime - thriller television series millennium . it premiered on the fox network on may 9 , 1997 . the episode was written by chip johannessen , and directed by peter markle . " maranatha " featured guest appearances by bill nunn , boris krutonog and levani outchaneichvili . millennium group consultant frank black ( lance henriksen ) aids both the new york police department and a russian investigator to track down the mysterious " " , a criminal from the russian underworld who may be an incarnation of the biblical beast from the sea . " maranatha " , a title which translates from aramaic as " our lord has come " , connects the 1986 chernobyl disaster to biblical prophecies of the star of wormwood . the episode features the first of two directorial contributions from markle , and sees future guest star brian downey appear in a minor role . plot in new york city , a man named yaponchik ( levani outchaneichvili ) shoots a man in the face , preventing the victim 's identification ; this is the third such murder committed this way . millennium group consultant frank black ( lance henriksen ) is asked to aid the new york police department investigate the case . black is joined by a muscovite investigator , yura surova ( boris krutonog ) , and an undercover agent , andrei medikov ( dmitri ) . examining the victim 's body , a symbol is found on the corpse resembling an inverted v , but its meaning is unknown . black , medikov and surova visit a russian nightclub where the latter two are working undercover . as surova and black talk at one table , medikov is approached by yaponchik . someone in the club recognizes yaponchik , and the crowd stampede out of the building when they hear his name . after the crowd has dispersed , black and surova find medikov 's body at a table , his face shot off . surova explains to black that yaponchik has come to be regarded by russians as a sort of evil folkloric figure . meanwhile , group member peter watts ( terry o 'quinn ) determines that the " v " -like symbol found earlier is actually a fragment of the chi rho , a christian symbol . watts also informs black that many russians believe yaponchik to have directly responsible for the chernobyl disaster , a soviet nuclear meltdown tied by some to biblical prophecies of the apocalypse . black researches the disaster , finding a picture of both medikov and surova at the chernobyl nuclear plant , and realizes that both men have been tracking yaponchik for revenge . one of yaponchik 's victims is identified as a restorer of russian icons . her home is searched , and it is found that she had uncovered yaponchik 's identity and attempted to appease him by sending him several icons . black feels yaponchik is killing in order to perpetuate the legends surrounding him by instilling fear in those who believe them . watts and black visit the russian embassy to find the man the icons were being mailed to — sergei stepanovich , identifiable as yaponchik . stepanovich is protected by diplomatic immunity ; however , it becomes clear that surova , medikov and an orthodox priest who aided the investigation have all been stalking stepanovich , who they believe to be the antichrist . yaponchik murders another two men at a bathhouse , but is confronted by surova . yaponchik tells surova he cannot be killed . surova ignores this , and shoots him in the head . yaponchik is then found and rushed to hospital . black sees the crime scene at the bathhouse , and draws a connection between yaponchik and the beast from the sea in the biblical book of revelation , who is said to survive a fatal head wound ; fearing that yaponchik will likewise survive , black heads to the hospital . surova beats him there , however , and confronts the recovered yaponchik . as surova is about to shoot his quarry again , he is convinced instead that yaponchik is " not the one " he is thought to be . surova helps yaponchik make his way to the helipad on the hospital 's roof . black and watts arrive on the roof in time to see yaponchik escorted onto a helicopter by several men , who take off before they can be apprehended . production " maranatha " was directed by peter markle , making his first contribution to the series . markle would later return to helm the third season episode " seven and one " . the episode was written by chip johannessen , who went on to write a total of twelve episodes across all three seasons , including the series ' final episode " goodbye to all that " . after millennium 's cancellation , johannessen would also contribute an episode to its sister show the x - files , 1999 's " orison " . johannessen would also become one of the series ' executive producers during its third season , alongside ken horton . the episode 's title , " maranatha " , is an aramaic language word translated as " our lord has come " or " come , our lord " ; the word is found in the biblical first epistle to the corinthians and is believed to have been used as a greeting among early christians . during production , the episode used the working title " the second coming " . the character peter watts makes mention of the origin of the name of chernobyl , a city in ukraine that was the location of the chernobyl disaster , a 1986 nuclear meltdown . according to watts , the name " chernobyl " translates as " wormwood " , causing the disaster to be likened to the biblical star of wormwood prophesied in the book of revelation , which was said to cause death through poisoning the waters . however , the word " " can be translated as " black grass " or " black myth " . actor brian downey , who portrayed a medical examiner in the episode , later appeared in an unrelated role in the two - part second season episodes " owls " and " roosters " . broadcast and reception " maranatha " was first broadcast on the fox network on may 9 , 1997 . the episode earned a nielsen rating of 6 . 7 during its original broadcast , meaning that 6 . 7 percent of households in the united states viewed the episode . this represented 6 . 5 million households , and left the episode the sixty - fifth most - viewed broadcast that week . the episode received mixed to positive reviews from critics . the a.v. club 's zack handlen rated the episode a b + , describing it as " a ho - hum x - files knock - off " . handlen felt that the acting was strong , and that the references to both chernobyl and apocalyptic prophecies formed a good basis for the episode ; however , he noted that the script 's uncertainty as to whether its villain really was the antichrist caused it to lose impact . bill gibron , writing for dvd talk , rated the episode 4 . 5 out of 5 , praising its " incredibly tight script " and describing it as " one of the best examples of millennium 's careful balancing act between reality and the otherworldly " . however , robert shearman and lars pearson , in their book wanting to believe : a critical guide to the x - files , millennium & the lone gunmen , rated the episode two stars out of five , finding that its plot " gets lost in the mix " amidst the details and atmosphere of the setting . shearman compared the folkloric feel of yaponchik as a russian incarnation of the devil to the american view of the devil as an invasion of the family unit , as personified by the character lucy butler in " lamentation " , finding the two symbols to work well in contrast to each other . however , he was unsure that the increasingly eschatological direction the series was taking was a positive move , as it left the central character frank black " largely forgotten " .