A Pair of Balances in his Hand

"And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and

see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of

balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil

and the wine." [Rev 6:5-6] A balance, of course, is the scale used by merchants to measure out a

quantity of goods and calculate a fair price. The simplest representation of a balance can be seen at left. A merchant places a quantity of goods on one side of the Lever, tilting it down on that

side. He then places some small weights on the opposite side of the Lever until

it is horizontal once again. The weights are added up and the price for the

goods calculated. Note the importance of placing the Fulcrum in the exact

center to keep the balance fair. Simple balances are still used in many places today to accurately measure the weight of goods to be purchased. It is an efficient way to measure a single

transaction. But what if you need to measure the fairness of transactions over a period

of time? You would, of course, have to add a third dimension to the model to account

for time-based fluctuations.

As with the Simple Balance above, the simplest representation we can make

of a time-based balance can be seen at right. The Horizontal Graph Balance

measures data along the centerline as time passes. Using the timeline as the

obvious Fulcrum, downward price trends cause the graph (lever) to dip below the

line, upward price trends send the graph (lever) above the line. By using two

equal price fluctuations, one up, one down, over an equal period of time, we end

up with the figure at right, a Horizontal Graph in perfect Balance.

The Horizontal Graph Balance works extremely well for measuring data of an

"up and down" nature. The prices of goods, battlefield victories or losses,

production levels, interest rates . . . all of these are easy to measure with

this type of graph balance.

But what if we're measuring data of a left & right nature? Things like

political affiliations, social freedoms/oppressions or states of war & peace.

It would be easier to measure these types of data with a Vertical Graph Balance,

like the one to the left. We could then easily measure when a given quantity, a

nation for instance, is leaning to the left (peace) or to the right (war).

Then again, in order to be an effective leader of a nation, one would have

to watch both the ups & downs, and the lefts & rights of the economy, social

conditions, military readiness, political stance and so on.

So, a pair of balances, one vertical and one horizontal would be the trick

to keeping an eye on all aspects of the nation. That way, the leader wouldn't

be without any crucial data needed to run his country.

Hmmm, that still doesn't answer the question of Hitler having his hand on

the balance, does it?

There are several passages in the Bible where people are warned not to

place their hand on the balance. By placing one's hand on the balance, one

could tip the scale in their own favor and thereby deal unfairly with the other

person. When we are told not to place our hand on the balance, we are actually

being told to deal fairly in all things.

Recalling the thumbnail history a couple of pages back, it is crystal clear

that Hitler rarely dealt fairly with anyone. He made peace treaties with many

countries as suited his needs, then attacked mercilessly as suited his

megalomania. The only major treaty he did not break was the "Pact of Steel" he

made with Mussolini, Hitler's principle partner in the Axis, but more about that

later.

You can't deal more unfairly with a people than did Hitler with the Jews.

The Nurembourg Laws set down bloodline "tainting" rules that decided whether

you could marry or have children, and ultimately, whether you lived or whether

you died. It wasn't long before those deemed to have too much Jewish blood were

sent to the death camps like sheep to the slaughter.

Hitler didn't even deal fairly with his own commanders, often arresting

whole groups and executing those he had become paranoid about.

No, Hitler rarely dealt fairly with anyone, after all, he was the dictator,

or as he liked to phrase it, the Supreme Law Lord.

Therefore, his hand was on the balance.

Speaking of which, when someone places their hand on the balance, haven't

they made the fulcrum null and void? After all, what's the point of having a

fulcrum if you're going to put your hand on the balance anyway?

By placing his hand on the balance, Hitler effectively removes the

centerline/fulcrums as you can see in the figure on the left. Now we can see

the basic shape that an eight-year-old Adolf saw on the Monastery walls. This

begs the question: "Did Hitler realize there was a "pair of balances" /

swastika connection?

I seriously doubt it. He probably just liked the design he saw as a child.

It is interesting to ponder that a Christian prophecy should find its path of

fulfillment in a child's fascination with designs on a Christian Monastery, not

forgetting that the child was destined to become one of the twentieth century's

worst nightmares.