John the Baptist’s Eschatology As Jesus’ forerunner, John the Baptist summoned the nation of Israel to repentance and to faith in the coming Messiah (see Acts 19:4), saying both “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven [ἡ βασιλεία18 τῶν οὐρανῶν, hē basileia tōn ouranōn] has drawn near [ἤγγικεν, ēngiken]” (Matt. 3:2) and “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). Elaborating upon this basic message, John proclaimed: The ax is already [ἤδη, ēdē] at the root