Isaiah 29:5

"But the multitude of thy foes shall be like small dust, and the multitude of the terrible ones shall be as chaff that passeth away: yea, it shall be in an instant suddenly. She shall be visited of Jehovah of hosts, with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with whirlwind and tempest, and the flame of a devouring fire. And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, even the multitude of all that fight against her and her stronghold, and that distress her, shall be as a dream, a vision of the night. And it shall be as when a hungry man dreameth, and, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty: or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh; but he awaketh, and, behold, he is faint, and his soul hath appetite: so shall all the nations be that fight against Zion."

In Isaiah 29:7,8, the words Ariel and Zion are used interchangeably, making it certain that Ariel and Zion (or Jerusalem) have the same meaning. As already noted, the mention of many nations fighting against Jerusalem is a sure indication that even the lifting of the siege of Sennacherib will by no means end the troubles of God's people.

"It shall be in an instant suddenly ..." (Isaiah 29:5). This is a repetition of the promise already given in Isaiah 17:14. "At eventide, behold, terror, and before morning they are not." Of course, that is exactly the way it happened!

Isaiah 29:8 is a description of the attitude of the cruel invader, already believing that victory belongs to him, and eagerly anticipating his triumph; but he suddenly wakes up to bitter hunger and disappointment. There have also been, and there will continue to be, many other occasions, "When the world has prematurely licked its chops over the demise of the Church."[8] The Marxist revolution in Russia, the French Revolution, and the regime of Adolph Hitler . were most certainly such occasions. But today, where is "The God of Reason," or those new names of the months which were supposed to mark the New Era?

The fulfillment of this prophetic promise of the abrupt end of Sennacherib's siege was described by Gleason:

Sennacherib was just returning from a great victory in which he defeated the Egyptians at Eltekeh; it was upon his return that he laid siege to Jerusalem; and there God destroyed 185,000 of his troops on a single night![9]