At the time of Christ's life on this earth, believers did not have access to the Bible in its entirety as we know it and are familiar with it today. Believers in this ancient period only had access to the Old Testament. However, through their access to the Old Testament, believers were provided a foundation for New Testament times. This foundation provided New Testament believers with the Lord's established principles of right and wrong that they should follow. Furthermore, the Old Testament is overflowing with accounts of people whose lives exemplified Christ's future life on this earth. These images allowed the Israelite nation to begin to understand why Christ needed to come as Messiah and the work He needed to do on earth. Finally, there are common themes that are woven throughout the Old Testament. Three of these themes: transgression, redemption, and consummation indicate the purpose of Christ's atoning death on the cross. These themes describe God's work in the lives of Old Testament believers, but they also foreshadow God's desire and plan for believers in New Testament times and beyond. The Old Testament is divided into six main sections. During each of these sections, elements of Old Testament history foreshadow various New Testament themes and events. Some of these various accounts recorded in the Old Testament are prophetic in nature and foretell specific details about various events that will be fulfilled in New Testament times. Each of the six major sections carries with it its own unique overarching theme that will connect in some way to the history and theology of the New Testament. The six main sections of the Old Testament are: creation (Genesis 1-11), covenant (Genesis 12-50), congregation...... middle of paper ...... Biblical commentary on the Old Testament . Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1992. Print.Ryrie, Charles C. The Ryrie Study Bible: King James Version. Chicago: Moody Publishers, 1994. Print.Scofield, CI Scofield's first reference Bible: containing the Old and New Testaments. Authorized King James Version, with a new system of topical references covering all the major themes of Scripture, with annotations, revised marginal interpretations, summaries, definitions, and index, plus help in difficult points, explanations of apparent discrepancies, and a new paragraph system. Westwood, NJ: Barbour and Company, 1986. Print.Unger, Merrill F. The New Unger Bible Dictionary. Ed. RK Harrison, Howard F. Vos and Cyril J. Barber. Chicago: Moody, 1988. Print.Wilkinson, Bruce and Kenneth Boa. Speak through the Bible. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1983. Print.