1306. “一座塔” 表自我崇拜. 这从 “塔” 的含义清楚可知. 当人将自己置于他人之上, 甚至到了被崇拜的地步时, 自我崇拜就产生了. 所以, 我欲, 也就是骄傲自大, 就称作 “高大”, “高耸”, “抬高”, 凡在高处的事物都用来描述它, 如以赛亚书:

到那日, 眼目高傲的必降为卑, 性情狂傲的都必屈膝, 惟独耶和华被尊崇. 必有万军耶和华降罚的一个日子, 要临到骄傲狂妄的, 一切自高的都必降为卑; 又临到黎巴嫩高大的香柏树和巴珊的橡树; 又临到一切高山和耸峙的山岭; 又临到高塔和坚固城墙. (以赛亚书 2:11-18)

这论及我欲, 以在高处和被拔高的 “香柏树”, “橡树”, “高山”, “山岭”, “高塔” 来描述.

同一先知书:

在大行杀戮的日子, 高塔倒塌的时候, 各高山冈陵必有溪水涌流. (以赛亚书 30:25)

此处 “塔” 同样表我欲和敬拜中的高傲. 又:

看哪, 迦勒底人之地向来没有这民; 亚述已将她委弃予野兽; 他们要设立瞭望塔, 拔高宫殿, 他必将她毁灭. (以赛亚书 23:13)

这论及推罗及其荒废. “瞭望塔” 是 “塔” 的另一种表述, 表由此而来的幻想. 以西结书:

推罗啊, 我必使许多国民上来攻击你, 他们必破坏推罗的墙垣, 拆毁她的高塔; 我也要刮净她的尘土, 使她成为净光的磐石. (以赛亚书 26:3-4)

此处 “塔” 有同样的含义.

敬拜中的我欲, 或自我崇拜, 被称作 “塔”, 这是因为 “城” 表教义, 如前所述 (402节), 以前, 塔用于城市的防御工事, 里面有守望的人. 城市边境也有塔, 因此, 它们被称作 “瞭望楼” (列王记下 9:17; 17:9; 18:8) 和 “瞭望塔” (以赛亚书 23:13). 此外, 当主的教会被比作 “葡萄园” 时, 敬拜的事物, 以及对敬拜的维护就被比作 “压酒池” 和 “葡萄园中的瞭望塔”, 这明显可见于以赛亚书 (5:1, 2), 马太福音 (21:33) 和马可福音 (12:1).

1321. That 'let us confound their lip' means that nobody has the truth of doctrine becomes clear from the meaning of 'lip' as doctrine, dealt with above at verse 1. Consequently 'confounding lips' is confounding the things that comprise doctrine, that is, the truths of doctrine. In the internal sense 'confounding' means not only darkening but also erasing and scattering so that no truth is left. When worship of self supplants worship of the Lord all truth is not only perverted but also done away with, till at length falsity is acknowledged in place of truth and evil in place of good. In fact all the light of truth comes from the Lord, and all thick darkness from man. When man takes the Lord's place in worship the light of truth turns to thick darkness, and in this case people see the light as thick darkness, and thick darkness as the light.

[2] Such also is the life of those people after death. To them the life of falsity looks like light, while the life of truth looks to them like thick darkness. But when they go near heaven the light of such life turns to total darkness. While they are in the world they are indeed able to utter the truth, and to do so eloquently and with seeming zeal. And because they are all the time thinking of themselves it seems to them as though truth is also in their minds. But because their end in view is worship of themselves, this end conditions their thoughts so that they do not acknowledge truth except insofar as self is present in that truth. Anyone like this, though truth is on his lips, clearly has no truth within him. This is quite evident in the next life, for there such people not only fail to acknowledge the truth which they have professed during their lifetime, but also hate it and persecute it. This they do to the extent that pride or worship of self is not taken away from them.