Moscow oil refinery struck in Ukraine’s biggest air raid on city since start of war

Jesus spoke these words on the Mount of Olives in response to His disciples' question about the sign of His coming and the end of the age. The phrase 'nation will rise against nation' (ethnos epi ethnos) describes inter-ethnic and inter-state warfare as a characteristic feature of the period leading to His return.

The Greek implies an escalating pattern, not isolated incidents.

This war between Russia and Ukraine—two distinct nations with deep historical and ethnic tensions—fits this pattern exactly. The 'biggest air raid' language indicates escalation, not de-escalation, matching the Lord's warning that such conflicts would increase in intensity before the end.

The Guardian reports that Ukraine's strike on Moscow was 'the biggest air raid on the city since the start of the war,' and that it was explicitly retaliatory for a Russian strike on a historic monastery. This cycle of attack and counterattack exemplifies what Jesus called 'nation rising against nation'—not a single event but a pattern of escalating violence.

The airport evacuation adds a dimension of disruption to civilian life that echoes the broader societal upheaval Jesus described.

Psalm 2 is a royal psalm describing the rebellion of earthly rulers against God's authority. The Hebrew word for 'rage' (ragash) conveys a tumultuous, noisy commotion—the restless agitation of nations in conflict.

The psalmist observes this as a universal pattern: human rulers, in their pride, resist God's sovereignty and pursue their own agendas through war and conspiracy.

This is not a prophecy of a specific future event but a timeless description of the futility of human warfare. The leaders of Russia and Ukraine, in their mutual rage and retaliation, are acting out this ancient pattern—setting themselves against God's ultimate authority even as they fight each other.

The article describes a carefully planned retaliatory strike: Ukraine's 'biggest air raid' on Moscow, explicitly framed as a response to Russia's attack on a monastery. Both sides 'rage' and 'plot'—the Russian leadership in its invasion, the Ukrainian leadership in its counterstrikes.

Yet Psalm 2 reminds us that all such raging is ultimately 'in vain' because God's Anointed—Christ—will one day establish His rule over all nations. This war, for all its intensity, is a temporary rebellion against the coming King.