Revelation 13:4 - Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible

And they worshipped the dragon: by the dragon, here, is to be understood the devil. Which gave power unto the beast; who gave power to these emperors; not that they did so directly, but interpretatively; they worshipped idols, which ordinarily in Scripture are called devils. And they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? Possibly worshipping in this latter clause is not to be understood of a Divine adoration, but a civil subjection; people, upon the driving out of these their enemies, generally gave themselves up to the obedience of their emperors and the bishops of Rome, commanding them idolatrous worship; and admired these two, as those by whom they had been delivered from those enemies who had plagued them so long.