[ElProximo]

Originally Posted by Stu

Oh so those were the poetic bits. Right, right. I get it now.

I love how you religionsists pick and choose which bits of The Bible are litteral and which parts are just poetic language based on whatever online discussion you are in.

Yes, those are metaphor bits and this is where a vision of metaphors is shown to someone.. who then writes down what they are and even what they look 'like'.
So congrats.. you needed me to explain that to you. Children get this 'intuitively' and they don't 'pick and choose' but rather you need only have something called 'basic reading comprehension'.
You 'pick and choose' just like you do when you read something like this article:

CBB Ratings Smash all Records.
This years opening drew in more viewers than any before it. 7 million viewers viewed and...

1.It doesn't even matter if this report is factually correct or not because what you do is interpret and comprehend the text itself as it is presenting itself.

2.You picked the title as intending to communicate a 'true claim' using metaphorical language. You did not suppose it mean some ratings can actually become physical objects used to physically damage some paper or CD containing previously recorded ratings.

3. Again, you understood 'drew in' to be speaking about the viewers desires and wishes and not resisting their attractions to the entertainment.

4. You did suppose it meant 7 million viewers. You did not understand that to be an 'allegory' but supposed they intended to communicate a factual statement and claim.

But for some reason you are baffled and even suspicious when it came to a passage in which a metaphorical 'vision' is given and communicated.
Somehow you don't know which way to go on that one?
Children do.
Intuitively they know this as a first read.

Now, I would say IF you did get to something where you could go 'either way' then how would you 'pick and choose'?
Well,
In this example, on this specific question about the spherical earth and how the 'receivers' understood it, although not required, I was showing you that - EVEN IF - you became confused here and did not know which way to go,
then,
you could make a 'tie-breaker' with other texts (in which they seem to understand a spherical Earth and so 'if anything' you fall to the majority of clear texts),
and,
with some historical context. In this case, Israelities along with their related counter-parts (Egyptians, Sumerians etc),
and,
you realize they knew perfectly well the Earth was a sphere and were well aware of rotation, stars, other planets and actually had some amazingly sophisticated understandings of astronomy.
So,
EVEN IF you were confused whether Moses was being 'literal' or a text was communicating a 'metaphorical' or 'poetic' passage.. ..your 'easy tie-breaker' would be knowing that historical context,
and,
it helps more if you know a bit about their 'catch phrases' and 'expressions' and how they used them back then in their language.
(not necessary here but helpful sometimes).

But none of this is complicated.
"I saw a vision of angels holding the four corners of the earth" is EASILY understood by even a child who certainly does not think "God must think the Earth is like a floating bread board d'uhhhhhhh".
Honestly.