Why is the Old Testament said to be unfinished story?

Answer 1

Christian Perspective

Because it leaves a lot of unfulfilled promises, mainly concerning Christ and His kingdom, Israels supremacy over nations, the land promised to Abraham's seed from Nile to Euphrates and so on. The New Testament picks up where the Old Testament left off, fulfilling some of the prophecies and promises, but mostly revealing many of the hidden mysteries of the Old Testament and laying out a far more detailed plan for the future, thus completing God's revelation to mankind.

Jewish Perspective

From a Jewish point of view, the Old Testament is only the beginning in terms of both the history of the Jewish people and the religion of the Jewish people. Judaism uses the Old Testament to represent its earliest history, but much of the Jewish story is after (chronologically) Ezra and Nehemiah. Those 2500 years completely redefined again and again what it meant to be Jewish. Religiously speaking, many of the greatest Rabbis, such as the Rishonim, Acharonim, Geonim, etc. came into the fore after the Old Testament period. Each explained and further detailed the Divine Law for which the Written Old Testament is only a starting point.

Islamic Perspective

From the Islamic point of view, the revelations of the Old Testament are incomplete both because they are replete with inaccuracies, but also because they fail to end the story. Mohammed, as the capstone prophet, must reinterpret the actions and messages of the previous prophets. His story, though, is merely an extension of these prophets before him and must be viewed in the context of their revelations. Naturally Mohammed's finality means that the Old Testament is not finished, but is instead the first act of a much larger saga.