More than 120 people were arrested between September 15 and 17 during three nights of weekend riots in St. Louis, Missouri. Peaceful protests turned violent as protesters demonstrated against the acquittal of former police officer Jason Stockley. Stockley, who is white, shot and killed Anthony Lamar Smith, a 24-year-old convicted drug dealer, who was black. The shooting occurred on Dec. 20, 2011, following an alleged drug deal. Smith had fled from police inside his vehicle and allegedly reached for a gun as the chase ended and Stockley approached.

Stockley was later charged with murder and was accused by the prosecution of planting the revolver that was found inside Smith’s vehicle. On September 15, the St. Louis circuit judge found that there was no evidence that Stockley had planted the weapon. In response to the verdict, protesters gathered outside the Carnahan Courthouse in St. Louis and marched through the city’s downtown. Many of the protesters carried Black Lives Matter signs or wore T-shirts emblazoned with the slogan.

The protests started out peacefully on Friday but became violent that night. Demonstrators smashed the windshields of police vehicles and threw rocks at the home of St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson. Rioters assaulted police officers, throwing bricks and other projectiles. Video footage shows officers using tear gas to disperse the crowds.

On Saturday, several hundred protesters marched through West County Mall, causing many stores to temporarily close. As they marched, protesters chanted slogans like “Black Lives Matter,” “No Justice, No Profits,” “Shut It Down,” and “You Can’t Stop the Revolution.”

The protests and rioting continued on Monday night, when several hundred demonstrators gathered outside the city jail. The protesters chanted, “Free our people!” in support of the 120-plus individuals who were arrested.

Krewson said that since the riots started in St. Louis, “the days have been calm and the nights have been destructive.” She declared that “destruction cannot be tolerated.” Dozens of business have been damaged, and several people have been injured—mostly police officers.

Videos have emerged of protesters burning the American flag. One video showed two American flags in flames as protesters cheered and clapped. “It’s not our flag,” a woman in another video shouted through a megaphone as she watched the stars and stripes burn. Another man in the crowd said, “It don’t represent us!”

In a news conference, Krewson said that “the vast majority of protesters are nonviolent,” blaming the rioting at night on “a group of agitators.” This violence is reminiscent of the race riots that engulfed Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014; Baltimore, Maryland, in 2015; and Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2016. abc News reported, “The majority of demonstrators, though angry, are law-abiding. But as the night wears on, a subsection emerges, a different crowd more willing to confront police, sometimes to the point of clashes.”

America’s cities are burning.

Trumpet editor in chief wrote in his booklet Great Again:

The United States is filled with thousands of Fergusons waiting to boil over. These situations are occurring more and more frequently. Each time, the emotion is more heated. The violence is worse. The racial hatred is intensifying. At the same time, the media and the public trust law enforcement less and less. …

Did you know that these burning cities are prophesied in your Bible?

Isaiah 1:7 states that ”your cities are burned with fire.” That is referring to our time today—and you can prove it.

What took place in Ferguson is not going away. When you look objectively at the facts of these high-profile, racially charged riots, you can see why they are certain to grow much worse.

Few people realize how grave this trend is. You need to know where this is leading! In fact, the Bible prophesies that this type of racial tension is building toward a time of unparalleled suffering. Race-related violence in our cities is going to play a major role in the unraveling of our society!

That is the bitter truth that most of our people refuse to face.

This is happening even more today. Race riots are becoming more frequent and more serious, and the Bible says that they will only get worse. Racially-charged violence is destroying the nation from the inside out.

The Bible tells us where these race riots are leading. To learn more about this subject, read Gerald Flurry’s article “Your Cities Are Burned With Fire.”