Matthew 3:10

And now also the axe, &c.— The axe is already laid to the root of the trees: every tree then, &c. "There is now no more time for delay: God is going to offer the last dispensation of repentance and mercy; which if you accept not, his vengeance hangs over you; destruction will speedily overtake you." See Isaiah 10:33. It may be proper to observe, once for all, that in Scripture language, what is very sure and very near is spoken of as if it were already done; accordingly, the Baptist speaks here in the present sense. So Christ speaks of himself, as if as man he were already in possession of his glory while upon earth; John 17:24. See also Ephesians 2:16. Beausobre and Lenfant observe, that this verse contains a prophesy of the total ruin and destruction of the temple, the city, and the nation of the Jews, which happened forty years after the death of the Lord Jesus Christ.