Isaiah 29:8
It shall even be as when an 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 the multitude of all the nations be, that fight against mount Zion.
It is like a hungry man who dreams he is eating and a thirsty man who dreams he is drinking, yet both wake empty and faint and still craving, so the multitude of the nations that fight against Mount Zion gain nothing from their attack and their hope comes to nothing. It stands among prophecies looking especially toward the last days and God's judgments on the earth, with Israel serving as a type of conditions in the Christian age. Its hope of victory for Zion's attackers is an illusion, for they are suddenly destroyed by God like dust and chaff. It will be fulfilled when the lost, raised in the second resurrection and led by Satan in a final assault on the New Jerusalem, are destroyed by God and find their attempt to seize the city and share the joy of the redeemed has failed. It also shows the emptiness of spending life seeking only earthly things and partaking of the drinks of the table of devils, which like food and drink in a dream labor for what cannot satisfy when the dream ends and leave the soul empty and still craving.
Language and Setting
Isaiah 29:8 stands in the first great division of the book, chapters 1-39, and more narrowly within chapters 24-35, a group of varied prophecies that look especially toward the last days and God's judgments upon the earth. Its comparison is direct: the multitude of all the nations that fight against Mount Zion shall be as a hungry man who dreams he eats but awakes with his soul empty, and as a thirsty man who dreams he drinks but awakes faint with his soul still craving. Their assault ends in complete disappointment, coming to nothing so that they do not gain what they sought and desired. What seemed like certain satisfaction and victory proves unreal and empty upon waking, leaving them still unsatisfied and in need.
The wording also shows that soul denotes the person himself in his physical life and appetite. The soul is said to be empty and faint, hungry and thirsty, because the dreamer wakes without having actually received food or drink. A thirsty soul is one longing for water just as a hungry soul longs for food, so that bodily hunger and thirst are attributed to the soul as a living being with bodily needs and faculties.
Prophetic Fulfillment
The prophecies to which the verse belongs concern Israel, with Israel standing as a type of conditions in the Christian age. The multitude of the nations that fight against Mount Zion are likened to hungry or thirsty persons who dream of eating or drinking but awake still empty and faint. Their apparent hope of victory is an illusion, for they are suddenly destroyed by God like dust and chaff, and their attack comes to nothing.
The verse will be fulfilled when the lost, raised in the second resurrection and led by Satan in a final assault on the New Jerusalem, find their hoped-for victory as empty as food or drink experienced only in a dream. As God destroys them, they will realize that their attempt to seize the city has failed and that their hope of sharing the redeemed's joy has failed, remaining hungry and thirsty when they awaken. In the same way the expectation of a converted world is an empty dream, like a hungry or thirsty person dreaming of satisfaction but waking still empty and faint. Those who rely on that hope will face bitter disappointment when the world reaps the harvest of sin in the seven last plagues and the battle of Armageddon.
Spiritual Applications
Spending life seeking only earthly things is labor for what cannot satisfy, like food or drink taken in a dream that leaves the person unsatisfied when the dream ends. The drinks of the table of devils do not satisfy but leave those who partake empty and still craving, as the hungry man wakes with empty soul after dreaming he eats and the thirsty man wakes faint with appetite after dreaming he drinks. Those who have lost faith in God's word yet remain hungry for religion are spiritually hungry and thirsty dreamers who dream of eating and drinking but wake still empty and faint, and their search does not satisfy them. This condition is explained by a vision that is like a sealed book, by outward honor for God without the heart, by reliance on human teaching, while human wisdom fails.
The vision of worldwide peace through a religio-political union is only an unrealized dream like dreaming of eating or drinking yet waking still unsatisfied and faint, and its supporters cannot bring their desired transformation to pass. The hope that Socialism will end class struggle is a splendid dream that appears to satisfy hunger or thirst but leaves the dreamer empty and still longing upon waking, and it cannot bring the lasting satisfaction it promises. The hope that human political and intellectual projects will bring Christ's kingdom is only an illusion like the apparent satisfaction of dreaming of eating or drinking yet waking still hungry and thirsty, a mere dream that cannot satisfy the world's need for the everlasting gospel of Jesus Christ.