There is a direct relationship between the restoration of Israel and the 2nd Coming of Yeshua (Jesus). The connection between Israel and the End Times can be summarized in this three part saying: 2nd Coming, 2nd Pentecost, 2nd Holocaust.

2nd Coming

The Second Coming is real. As He ascended from earth to heaven at Jerusalem, so He will descend from heaven to earth at Jerusalem (Acts 10). His feet will literally stand again on the Mount of Olives (Zechariah 14:4).

Yeshua will return not only to the place "Jerusalem" but to the people of Jerusalem. He said that He would not return until the people of Jerusalem receive Him back as King. "For I say to you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord'" - Matthew 23:39.  Who is the "you" in this passage? – the people of Israel; in fact the same religious Jews who rejected Him in the first place.

2nd Pentecost

Before the 2nd Coming, a world wide revival will take place. This revival will be similar to the one that took place in Jerusalem in the first century, but much wider. "It shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh… before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord" – Acts 2:17, 20.

The same fire of the Holy Spirit will be poured out… this time, not just in Jerusalem, but in the whole world, on all flesh. The flames of revival that will engulf the whole world will include Israel as well. This is what Paul meant that "All Israel will be saved" – Romans 11:26. This revival will lead to the 2nd Coming and the Resurrection of the Dead. "What will their acceptance be but life from the dead" – Romans 11:15.

2nd Holocaust

Revival in Israel is a pre-requisite to the 2nd Coming.  Since the devil knows he will be defeated at Yeshua's coming, one of his central objectives is to stop the restoration of Israel, both physically and spiritually. At the end Satan will be so desperate he will incite all the nations of the world to try to destroy Israel.

World wide anti-Semitism and a war of all the nations against Israel is one of the most recurring themes of End Times' prophecies, both in the Old Testament and the New.

Revelation 16:14, 16; 19:19
They are spirits of demons which go out to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty...
And they gathered themselves together to the place called in Hebrew, Mount Megiddo…  I saw the beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against Him who sat on the horse and against His army.

The kings and armies and nations of this world will gather together to make war against Yeshua (Revelation 19:19). They will be inspired by the devil and gathered by demons (Revelation 16:14). That war will culminate in Israel, on the plain surrounding Tel Megiddo (Revelation 16:16), and down to Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:2). The battle will be spiritual and physical at the same time.

Like the First Holocaust

I write these words on the eve of Holocaust Remembrance Day here in Israel. On this same day, an international conference sponsored by the United Nations, known as Durban II, is convening in Switzerland. The conference is led by Libya, Iran and Cuba. The conference, allegedly to fight racism, is just a cover up to condemn Israel.
Even U. S. President Obama called the Durban II conference "hypocritical and counterproductive."

Iranian President Ahmadenijad is scheduled to be the key note speaker. Ahmadenijad has repeatedly called for the destruction of Israel and denied the Holocaust.  Having him speak on the same day that the people of Israel are mourning the 6,000,000 Jews who were murdered in Europe is insidious and infuriating.

In the coming Holocaust, the Bible says that 2/3 of the people in Israel will be killed.
Zechariah 13:8 – "It shall come to pass in all the land that two-thirds in it will be cut off and die." The first Holocaust took place in the middle of a world war. Millions of other people from the surrounding nations were killed, as well as the Jews. The same will be true in the second Holocaust.

If two thirds of the Jews will be killed, how many will be killed of the nations? – One Third. Revelation 9:15-16 – "So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released to kill a third of mankind. Now the number of the army of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them." Two hundred million is 200,000,000. That number was inconceivable in Biblical times. Today's population is estimated at 6.77 billion. One third of that would already be over 2 billion.

Positive Ending

While this message of the 2nd Holocaust and Apocalyptic wars in the End Times, sounds alarmist, let us remember that there is a positive ending. While the darkness gets darker, the light gets lighter. Isaiah 60:2 – "Behold, darkness will cover the earth and deep darkness the people; but the Lord will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you. The nations will come to your light and kings to the brightness of your rising."

The 2nd Holocaust takes place concurrently with the 2nd Pentecost. And they both lead to the great victory at the 2nd Coming. Just as the first Holocaust and World War II ended up in the re-birth of the nation of Israel, so will the second Holocaust and World War III end up in the birth of the Millennial kingdom of peace and prosperity on earth.