Millennium (The X-Files) - Themes

Themes

The episode makes prominent use of John 11:25–26 from the Christian Bible, which reads "Who soever liveth and believeth in me shall never die". These were the words that were have believed to been said by Jesus when he rose Lazarus of Bethany from the dead; biblical scholars have noted that the verse was also intended as a foreshadow of his resurrection. For this reason, the verse is used in the episode to represent a physical resurrection from the dead. However, Amy Donaldson, in her book We Want to Believe, notes that the verse is used for the wrong reasons in "Millennium"; the necromancer is able to successfully raise the dead by reciting the line, but only their bodies, resulting in mindless zombies. Later, the verse reappears in the eight season entry "Deadalive" during Mulder's funeral. In this instance, the verse is used to symbolize its true intentions, and Mulder is returned from the dead, both in mind and body.

The episode also deals with the Book of Revelations, particularly verse 1:18, "I am he that liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys to Hell and of death". The Millennium Group believes that the four chosen members are the prophesied Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse; although the group believes that fate is predetermined, they believe they can help by "making it happen themselves". Thus, they commit suicide in order to be resurrected as the Four Horsemen. Donaldson argues that Johnson and the Millennium Group have taken Jesus' promise of eternal life and resurrection too literally, resulting in "a recreated cycle in this life rather than escape into the next". This is further proved when the four Millennium Group members return as zombies; they have achieved life after death, but only physically—not spiritually—by "abusing Jesus's words to take their fate into their own hands".