8708. 'And the work they must do' means faith put into action. This is clear from the meaning of 'the work they must do' as action, at this point action inspired by the light of intelligence, that is, by faith since the light of intelligence holds faith from the Lord within it, dealt with above in 8707. In the measure that a person accepts the truths of faith he passes into that light and is raised to heaven. But acceptance of the truths of faith is arrived at not by simply acknowledging them but by acknowledgement linked to life, that is, by an acknowledgement of them expressed in action. This kind of acceptance is what 'the work they must do' is used to mean.

Evening, a time when the light and heat are fading away, represents a state in which a person -- or a community of people -- is turning away from the Lord, with little desire left to be good and little knowledge left regarding what good is. Evening is often a time of judgment.

In Genesis 19:1, the evening signifies the visitation that comes before judgment. (Arcana Coelestia 2318)

In Genesis 30:16, this signifies the good or truth in a state of good, but in the obscurity that is characteristic of the natural. (Arcana Coelestia 3949)