Birthed In Seeing

A conversation with Roger Hanson

This conversation with Roger Hanson offers several questions I’ve asked friends to consider connecting on. Roger is a deep and intentional thinker. I’ve been blessed to know him and his bride of fifty-plus years for a mere quarter century, and I have never been disappointed by his thoughtful responses. When I asked Rog the following question, I knew you would be encouraged by his answer. I hope you enjoy and are challenged to step one step beyond where you are today. Let your ceiling become your floor.

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Byron: What initially drew you to delve into divine imagination?

Roger: “Divine imagination” (or “spiritual imagination”) is a term that I had not been introduced to until only about three years ago. I was reading a book by the late Christopher Paul Carter, in which he discussed being invited into the heavenly realms by asking for the Spirit’s help in “activating” one’s “spiritual imagination.” In his text, he related in detail many of his journeys in heaven, describing conversations with angels, being given a tour of the mansion prepared for him there, walking and conversing with Jesus, and encountering various structures, including a heavenly library where he was able to read scripture from a Bible open on a lectern.

Byron: That book is making the rounds. I first heard about Christopher Paul Carter around 2019 from our friend Damien Broussard. Damien had sent me the link because I had recently published An Introduction to New Era. This is my take on some historical and relevant reasons we’ve stepped into this transformation time on earth. His book made a world of difference in how I saw and used language. How did it affect you?

Roger: I was intrigued. I was awed. I was, frankly, jealous. I determined to look into whether there was a possibility that I might be able to do the same.

Byron: I asked Roger several more questions about his journey into the imagination. The first question I wanted to hear was how he moved forward, knowing he was a bit miffed. Read Rogers's responses below.

Roger: After tamping down my first thoughts of “Is this for real?” – and – “Is there Biblical precedent for this?” (all the while fending off the enemy’s accusations to dismiss it all as some spiritual fantasy or counterfeit) – I resolved to search the scriptures in order to consider my next thoughts; thoughts of “could I do this, also?”

In the scriptures, I found no prohibition to visiting the spiritual realms. In fact, I found much to the contrary, both Old Testament and New. To list just a few: Enoch (who ‘walked with God’ during his sojourn on earth, and ‘was no more, for God took him); Jacob (who saw a ladder from earth into heaven with angels ‘ascending and descending’); Isaiah and Ezekiel, who recounted angelic visitations; Elijah (who ascended into heaven in bodily form in the sight of Elisha); Stephen (who saw the heavens opened and Jesus at the right hand of God on His throne); Paul (who writes that he was ‘caught up into the third heaven’); and of course, the Revelation of Jesus given to John on Patmos when he was “in the Spirit,” visiting the very throne room of God.

Byron: Amazing! I love it when scriptures back our journey. It’s never quite the same, but that should be expected. I don’t believe it’s the specific way we are to emulate others’ experiences but enter through the avenue of exploration that the Spirit of God uniquely opens for each of us. I’m assuming you came to a conclusion?

Roger: Yes, it was real in the Bible, and therefore, yes, it should be available for believers today. I began earnestly seeking to enter the heavenly realms.

Byron: Now we’re getting to the meat of the subject. Looking back on your imagination journey, what have you gained in hindsight?

Roger: Only recently, a realization occurred to me. I looked back at my earliest days of functioning in the gift of prophecy. I found that I had often operated with divine imagination without recognizing it as such. At first, prophecies came to me through listening or journaling (by “hearing” or by writing down what the Holy Spirit said to me; I was “word-based”).

A day eventually came, though, when this changed. On that day, I was seeking, but not ‘hearing,’ anything to speak or to journal. Being a bit frustrated with myself (and truthfully, also with the Holy Spirit who was silent that morning), I closed my eyes and, as always, waited for ‘the word’….and I waited…and I waited.

Byron: Ahhh, the moment when the Father transitions and teaches simultaneously. I remember standing on a platform in a church in Ohio. I had always ministered a certain way. There had been a pattern. That evening, He took me down a different path. At first, I thought I’d missed it. But true to form, He opened the door to a new understanding. How did this moment turn out for you?

Roger: The Holy Spirit had something else in store for me. With my eyes still closed, I was surprised to ‘see’ before me a path on a hillside. I ‘looked’ and again waited for ‘the word.’ The ‘word’ that came was “walk.” I recognized the Holy Spirit’s voice. In my imagination, I then ‘walked’ on the path until I ‘saw’ a large green bush on my right. As I looked at it and pondered its meaning, the ‘word’ came to me. The ‘bush’ was symbolic. As I ‘listened,’ the meaning of the symbolism formed within my spirit. Later that morning, it was expressed publicly as my first prophetic word birthed in ‘seeing.’ It changed forever how I received revelation from the Spirit.

Byron: You just said a lot. You mentioned see, looked, seeing, saw, and listened. What was the result of all this seeing? What was the takeaway from this seemingly life-altering moment?

Roger: I surmised that I had “envisioned” (my term at the time) the entire scene. I now understand more fully. I had been seeking the Holy Spirit and had used “divine imagination” to set the scene into which He could pour out revelation and understanding.

Byron: So, where are you now? What came of that moment that moved you forward in your journey of imagination?

Roger: I continue to use my “divine imagination” to ‘set the scene’ – and the Holy Spirit continues to expand my vision through His revelation.

Byron: Roger, thanks for taking the time to connect. I look forward to more time with you, hearing more of your heart, and exploring divine imaginations.

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