Taglines: Prepare yourself for the secrets of The Omega Code.
The Omega Code movie storyline. In Jerusalem, a rabbi named Rostenburg is using software he designed to decode seventy eschatological prophecies hidden within the Torah. Rostenburg has handwritten each one in a journal, to be entered into the program for deciphering.
The program deciphers a prophecy which says that he is about to die; immediately, he tears the page containing the final code from his journal, hiding it in his shirt pocket. He is then shot and killed by an assassin, who takes his journal and the optical disc containing the decoding program. After the assassin leaves, two mysterious men (later revealed to be two prophets) retrieve the journal page Rostenburg had hidden.
Television reporter and talk show host Cassandra Barris (Catherine Oxenberg) introduces Dr. Gillen Lane (Casper Van Dien) as her show’s guest. Lane is a popular author and charismatic motivational speaker who explains that codes hidden in the Old Testament describe events past, present, and future; he sees no contradiction between this belief and his dismissal of religious faith.
Media mogul and European Union Chairman Stone Alexander (Michael York) receives a humanitarian award in Rome for having all but eliminated world hunger through advances in nutritional technology. There, we see that the man who killed Rostenburg and stole his decoding software is Alexander’s apprentice, Dominic (Michael Ironside).
Dr. Lane is in attendance, seeking to meet with Alexander “to discuss some ideas.” Cassandra, employed by one of Alexander’s television networks, is also in attendance, providing Lane brief conversation after Alexander spurns him. Some time afterward, however, Alexander sees a prophecy (deciphered with Rostenberg’s program) that leads him to ask Lane to become his Minister of Information.
Using each prophecy Rostenburg’s program deciphers to guide him, Alexander works toward world domination by whatever means he deems necessary, including secretly arranging for the bombings of Muslim and Jewish holy sites in Israel. Reporting from Jerusalem, Cassandra is caught up in one of the blasts. The two prophets from Rostenburg’s study take her from the rubble, telling her that they have “a message for [her] to carry”.
Alexander goes on to use the sites’ rebuilding to help forge a groundbreaking Middle East peace treaty. Not long thereafter, most national governments agree to join a ten-state “World Union”, of which Alexander is chairman. Lane finds fulfillment in his new position, though he regrets not being able to be with his estranged wife and young daughter.
The Omega Code is a 1999 religious thriller film directed by Rob Marcarelli, starring Casper Van Dien, Michael York, Catherine Oxenberg, and Michael Ironside. The premillennialist plot revolves around a plan by the Antichrist (York) to take over the world using information hidden in the titular Bible code.
The film was funded and distributed by the Trinity Broadcasting Network, whose head, televangelist Paul Crouch, wrote a novelization of the film’s screenplay. In 2000, the film was released to both VHS and DVD formats by GoodTimes Entertainment. This was followed in 2001 by a follow up film, Megiddo: The Omega Code 2, a film that serves partly as a prequel as well as an alternate eschatological tale. While it had a significantly larger budget than the original, it was less enthusiastically received, and was ultimately less popular. Both films were produced by Gener8Xion Entertainment and TBN Films
The Omega Code (1999)
Directed by: Rob Marcarelli
Starring: Casper Van Dien, Michael York, Catherine Oxenberg, Devon Odessa, Michael Ironside, William Hootkins, Janet Carroll, Gregory Wagrowski, Ayla Kell
Screenplay by: Stephan Blinn, Hollis Barton
Production Design by: Mark Harper
Cinematography by: Carlos González
Film Editing by: Katina Zinner, Peter Zinner
Costume Design by: Judy Truchan
Set Decoration by: Jen Tauritz
Art Direction by: Giora Porter
Music by: Alan Howarth, Harry Manfredini
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for several scenes of shootings.
Distributed by: TBN Films
Release Date: October 15, 1999
Views: 128
