Commentaries:
Adam Clarke
And they worshipped the dragon - Worshipping the dragon here evidently means the voluntary religious subjection of the members of the Latin Church to the revived western empire, because of the eminent part it has taken in the support of their faith.
And they worshipped the beast - Not only the dragon or revived western empire was worshipped; the beast, the whole Latin empire, is a partaker in the adoration. The manner in which it is worshipped consists in the subjects of it: -
Saying, Who is like unto the beast? - Is it not the only holy power in the universe? Is it possible for any person not a subject of it to be saved?
Who is able to make war with him? - Can any nation successfully fight with it? Is not the Roman empire, which is its principal bulwark, invictissimum , most invincible? Invictissimus , most invincible, was the peculiar attribute of the emperors of Germany. See modern Universal History, vol. xxxii., p. 197.
Other Adam Clarke entries containing Revelation 13:4:
John 18:40
Revelation 14:9
Revelation 15:2
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