Will Babylon Be Rebuilt?

When interpreting Scripture, some Christians take things allegorically that should be taken literally (i.e. Genesis 1). Other Christians have the opposite problem and take literally what should be taken allegorically.

In their quest to interpret the book of Revelation literally, some prophecy pundits claim that the city of Babylon will be rebuilt. They propose that the Antichrist will establish his headquaters at the ancient city of Babylon.

Why do they propose that this city will be rebuilt? It's because the book of Revelation mentions "Babylon". If we take this to be referring to the literal, Old Testament city of Babylon, we must conclude that it is a rebuilt city because Babylon currently lies in ruins.

The problem with the conclusion is twofold: 1. This conclusion is reached because the symbols of Revelation are interpreted literally rather than symbolically. 2. This conclusion is contradicted by earlier Scripture.

When we study Scripture, we must understand that any given passage of Scripture must be interpreted while taking the context into consideration. Consider Isaiah 13:19-22:

19 "And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency,
shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
20 It shall never be
inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither
shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold
there.
21 But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses
shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall
dance there.
22 And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their
desolate houses, and dragons in [their] pleasant palaces: and her time [is] near
to come, and her days shall not be prolonged."

I would like to draw attention to verse 20 in particular: "It [Babylon] shall never be inhabited..." Does this leave any possibility of Babylon being rebuilt?