Literal here must mean "How the original author and readers understood the text". Neither lived with the concepts we have in a modern society. The idea of "How?" or even "When?" did not concern them as it does us. Their focus was on "Why?" They lived wanting to please their gods, so the why was important.
So are your saying, this part of the narrative never happened?
And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered him by a voice. And the Lord came down upon mount Sinai, on the top of the mount: and the Lord called Moses up to the top of the mount; and Moses went up. (Exodus 19:18-20)
Moses (the commonly accepted author of Genesis and the Israelites ahd recently left Egypt after 4 centuries. They were imbued with Egyptian beliefs and culture. Moses took that Egyptian creation stories and recast them in terms of the God Moses knew. Essentially, Genesis sets out a story of God building His temple, the earth, assigning boundaries and functions to it, and finally setting up his 'idols', people as His image bearers, to be his co-regents and priests.
So are you saying this never happened?
Then Aaron lifted his hand toward the people, blessed them, and came down from offering the sin offering, the burnt offering, and peace offerings. And Moses and Aaron went into the tabernacle of meeting, and came out and blessed the people. Then the glory of the Lord appeared to all the people, and fire came out from before the Lord and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. When all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces. (Leveticus 9:22-24)
Thus, Genesis is not an account of a creation time line (When and How) but the establishing of the earth under the stewardship of humanity for yet more wonderful purposes. This is why Paul writes about the renewal of creation as we see in his letters. The entire debate and attempts to reconcile creation and science is a huge waste of effort. Both have different agendas, and rightfully so. It's when we confuse agendas that we end up with the confusion we have in the various positions adopted by Christians. We of course Christians reject the 'no proof of God therefore there isn't one' position that some people trespassing from science into metaphysics and philosophy propound. Let us enjoy scientific discoveries of the wonders of creation and live as people with an understanding of some of the important "Whys' and 'What fors' that the genesis account gives to us.
So are you saying this will never be literally fulfilled:
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. (Revelations 21:1-3)
Grace and peace,
Mark