Will literal Babylon be rebuilt?

No! Judgment upon Babylon was executed some 2,500 years ago. The prophet Jeremiah mentions Babylon 36 times in chapter 51 and concludes, "And thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her: and they shall be weary. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah" (verse 64).

Archaeological Babylon is quite fascinating and much of the ruins have been excavated. A few walls were rebuilt during the Saddam Hussein administration, but in the meantime, much of it has been torn down as Iraqis scavenge the bricks for themselves or sell them as souvenirs. The original ancient Babylon is a desolation located in a swamp, thus, verse 29 reads: "And the land shall tremble and sorrow: for every purpose of the LORD shall be performed against Babylon, to make the land of Babylon a desolation without an inhabitant."