"ordained to eternal life" - retrospective anachronistic nuance

[Brightfame52]

Acts 28:23 NASB
When they had set a day for Paul, people came to him at his lodging in large numbers; and he was explaining to them by solemnly testifying about the kingdom of God and trying to persuade them concerning Jesus, from both the Law of Moses and from the Prophets, from morning until evening.

Here a group of people had agreed upon a day for Paul to explain his testimony concerning the kingdom God. Therefore, once again, the intended meaning of tasso is this context is by mutual consent.

And note that not only was the direction established by mutual consent among the group, Paul also agreed to provide the testimony at that time and place.

Van,

Your attempt to use Acts 28:23 to turn tassō into a "mutual consent" contract is another massive lexical failure. You are confusing the scheduling of a calendar date with a collaborative negotiation, completely ignoring how the Greek language actually functions.

1. Fixing a Date is an Authoritative Determination

The word used here is ταξάμενοι (taxamenoi), an aorist middle participle. When tassō is used in relation to a day, a time, or a tax rate in the ancient world, it means "to fix, settle, establish, or lock in place." The Jewish leaders formally designated and fixed a specific day on the calendar for Paul to speak. Paul didn't sit down with them to collaboratively negotiate the etymology of the word; a day was set, and people gathered on that set day.

2. Your Philosophy Destroys Basic Vocabulary

Let's apply your bizarre logic to real life, Van. If a university professor fixes (tassō) a deadline for a final paper, and the students all hand their papers in on that day, does that mean the word fixing actually means "democratic mutual agreement"? Absolutely not. The professor authoritatively designated the day, and the students conformed to it. The fact that multiple people interact with a fixed date does not turn an authoritative designation into an egalitarian negotiation.

3. Total and Absolute Lexical Failure

For the third time in a row, your private definition is completely rejected by every standard Greek lexicon on earth. Let’s look at how the actual experts define tassō in this exact verse (Acts 28:23):

• BDAG Lexicon: "To bring about an order of things by specifying—to fix, settle, or assign." They explicitly translate this phrase as: "having fixed a day for him."
• Thayer’s Lexicon: "To appoint, to set apart a day."

Show us a single recognized, standard Greek lexicon that translates tassō in Acts 28:23 as "an arrangement by mutual consent." You can't, because it doesn't exist. You are inventing an entire language out of thin air to protect your Arminian philosophy.

Whether it is a group of leaders actively fixing a calendar day (Acts 28:23), a church actively assigning a mission (Acts 15:2), a centurion actively stationed under command (Luke 7:8), or God passively ordaining His elect to eternal life before the foundation of the world (Acts 13:48), tassō always denotes a fixed, authoritative setting or appointing. God's eternal phase of election does not wait for a human handshake—He sovereignly appoints, His Spirit effectively quickens, and 100% of those appointed infallibly believe.

---