Where was God's headquarters in Israel's religious history?
Jerusalem was God's headquarters throughout Israel's religious history. The Temple was in the southern kingdom, Judah, and God dealt with His people through the Temple in Jerusalem. The northern kingdom's Samaritans set up secondary worship on Mount Gerizim, but that was a man-made counterfeit without God's presence.
Les teaches that all through Israel's religious history, Jerusalem is the headquarters of God's operation. The Temple was in the southern kingdom, Judah, and it carried on as usual. The Israelites of the northern kingdom set up a secondary Temple worship on Mount Gerizim, but God's presence was not in it; it was just another man-made religion. They did not recognize that God was dealing with Israel through the Temple in Jerusalem. By contrast, the New Testament Church has no earthly headquarters. Even though Antioch was a fountainhead for the Gospel going out to the Gentiles, Scripture never places Antioch as the headquarters of the New Testament Church, nor is Jerusalem. The Church today is headquartered not on earth but in heaven. Under Judaism, Jerusalem was to be understood as where God dealt with His people.