- Jacob's dreams of stars & wheat were not literal. Stars & sheaves didn't bow to him in real life.
- Pharaoh's dreams of cows & wheat were not literal. Skinny cows didn't really turn canibal by eating fat cows.
- Daniel's dreams & visions of statues & beasts were not literal. Kingdoms aren't literally chimeric beasts & kings are real people, not horns.
- Jeremiah's vision of figs wasn't literal. It was about people, not figs.
- Ezekiel's vision wasn't literally about bones being reassembled & covered in real flesh. It was about the restoration of Israel as a nation.
- Peter's vision wasn't about eating anything. It was about people.
- John's vision of beasts & bowls wasn't about beasts & bowls. It was about kings, nations, calamity, & judgment.
Visions in the Bible are almost never supposed to be interpreted in a hyper-literal sense. Metaphor is the rule, not the exception. This isn't spiritualizing the Bible or explaining away any mysteries. This is just common sense that any reasonably intelligent person should be able to discern for himself.
Anybody who says the earth is square because Revelation 7:1 says there were four angels at the four corners of the earth has no business teaching others about the Bible. It doesn't make him a bad person. It just makes him unqualified to be a teacher.
Update: For more on Common Sense Bible Study see http://jaycarper.com/biblestudy.
Another update: Believing absurd things doesn't necessarily mean someone is unintelligent. I know many very smart people who are simply unable to think clearly about certain topics.
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