Mystery Babylon

"Mystery Babylon" is revealed in Revelation chapter 17 and 18. Those two chapters give us all we need to uncover the "mystery". But there are other chapters in the Old Testament about her as well. To distinguish if the actual Babylon or the "Mystery Babylon" of the End Times is meant in the Old Testament passages look for hints like these phrases: "in that day", and "burn forever, or be desolate forever". Obviously there is not a place in earth that is at present burning continuously, so you can be safe in assuming that is still a future prophecy. Jeremiah 50-51 and Isaiah 13, and 21 are chapters that I found about the "Babylon" of the End Times.

Going back to Revelation, let's look at Mystery Babylon's traits.
Verse 1:
great prostitute, who sits by many waters.
(In the Bible when a nation is called a prostitute it mearly means that they do not worship God, they worship a false god. The "many waters" on which she sits are explained by the angel in verse 15, "Then the angel said to me, 'The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages.")
Verse 2:
With her the kings of the earth committed adultery, and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.
Verse 3:
sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns.
(In verse 9-13 the angel explains, “The seven heads are seven hills on which the woman sits. They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, {The 'beast nations' that had fallen by that time were Egypt,Babylona, babylon, Medo-Persia, and Greece} one is {that was Rome}, the other has not yet come {this speaks of the Ottoman Empire that took over after the Roman Empire, today we see the resurgence of the Ottoman/Islamic Empire}; but when he does come, he must remain for only a little while. The beast who once was, and now is not, is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction. The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. {These could be any number of Islamic countries/kings, there are tons around today. We will find out soon enough which nations become the top ten. Note though that the prostitute was riding the beast, they are not one in the same. We see this explained in verse 16-18; "The beast and the ten horns you saw will hate the prostitute. They will bring her to ruin and leave her naked; they will eat her flesh and burn her with fire. For God has put it into their hearts to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to hand over to the beast their royal authority, until God’s words are fulfilled. The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.” The other Islamic nations "hate" this nation that rules over kings of the earth. They will ultimately destroy her.})
Verse 4:
dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls. She held a golden cup in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries.
(This is a nation of royalty, and of great wealth, and of perversion.)
Verse 5:
The name written on her forehead was a mystery: BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF PROSTITUTES, AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
(Being called the "mother" of prostitutes and of abominations is no small title. This is a place that is home to the center of false god worship, and the home of the most abominable things going on in the world today.)
Verse 6:
drunk with the blood of God’s holy people, the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus.
(This nation seeks to kill Christians. They have zero tolerance for those worship the one true God.)

"Mystery Babylon" is Saudi Arabia. Home to Mecca, the center of Islam. The nations of the earth depend on her for oil, and she depends on them for every other product. She is a mass consumer. Saudi Arabia has three times the GDP of the UAE. She is by the sea. She is in the desert. She is home to royalty. She is a religious leader. She is an economic leader. "The kings of the earth committed adultery with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries.”
There is no other nation that matches all of the qualifications.

So... as we look into the future what can we be sure will happen to Saudi Arabia?

Revelation 18 says that she will be given "as much torment and grief as the glory and luxury she gave herself. ...in one day her plagues will overtake her: death, mourning and famine. She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her. When the kings of the earth who committed adultery with her and shared her luxury see the smoke of her burning, they will weep and mourn over her because no one buys their cargoes anymore - cargoes of gold, silver, precious stones and pearls; fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet cloth; every sort of citron wood, and articles of every kind made of ivory, costly wood, bronze, iron and marble; cargoes of cinnamon and spice, of incense, myrrh and frankincense, of wine and olive oil, of fine flour and wheat; cattle and sheep; horses and carriages; and human beings sold as slaves. {Sex slaves are a HUGE business in Saudi Arabia.} They will say, ‘The fruit you longed for is gone from you. All your luxury and splendor have vanished, never to be recovered.

Then a mighty angel picked up a boulder the size of a large millstone and threw it into the sea, and said: “With such violence the great city of Babylon will be thrown down, The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever.”

To end on a light note... "Take that Al Gore, 'smoke going up forever and ever' and yet the ozone survives another 1,000 years+."