4002. Stolen is this by me. That this signifies that it was not his, is evident without explication. In the sense of the letter this expression does indeed sound somewhat harsh; but when it passes toward heaven, it loses its harshness, and becomes gentle and mild. A similar expression occurs in Matthew:

Watch therefore, for ye know not what hour your Lord will come. But know this, that if the good man of the house had known in what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken through (Matthew 24:42-43).

And in John:

If thou shalt not watch, I will come upon thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee (Revelation 3:3).

In the same:

Behold I come as a thief, blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments (Revelation 16:15).

These expressions are used concerning the Lord; “as a thief” merely signifies that which is unlooked for and unexpected. In the internal sense “to steal” denotes to claim for self that which is the Lord’s, namely, good and truth; and as in the beginning of regeneration all do this, and as this is the first state of innocence (see n. 4001), the expression is milder than it sounds in the letter. Consequently, “stolen is this by me” signifies that it was not his.

4001. And black among the lambs. That this signifies the first state of innocence, is evident from the signification of “black,” as being what is man’s own; and from the signification of a “lamb,” as being innocence (concerning which just above, n. 3994). That the “black in the lambs” here signifies the first state of innocence, is because at first the own of the man who is being regenerated reigns; for he supposes that he does what is good from his own, and also he must do it as if from his own, in order that he may be endowed with a heavenly own (see n. 1712, 1937, 1947, 282, 2883, 2891). This is the reason why by the “black among the lambs” is here signified the first state of innocence.