the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast. … and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?”

Revelation 13:3-4 provides two descriptions of the actions of the earth-dwellers with respect to the beast: (1) they worship it, and (2) they say words that show their reverent fear of it. Between these two descriptions we have the word “saying.” An active participle in Greek, as “saying” is here, can frequently have epexegetical force — as also in English. That is to say, the second clause is not describing an additional activity the earth-dwellers perform but rather is providing additional clarity to the (singular) activity already mentioned.

In other words: how do they worship the beast? They worship the beast by saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?” The act of expressing their feelings of awe and terror toward the beast is an act of worship, as the text sees it.

Hence, this passage is a rebuke to anyone who says, “I sure wouldn’t want to stand up to that beast, but it’s not like I’m going to actually go and worship it or anything!” If the beast is worthy of your fear, then you have attributed “worth-ship” to it, from which we get the English “worship.”

When the earth-dwellers worship the beast by saying, “Who can fight against it,” they are probably speaking rhetorically, just like the great ones of the earth in 6:17 do not actually expect an answer to their cry, “Who can stand?” But the book of Revelation does in fact answer their questions directly:

Who is like the beast? The King of kings is mightier than the beast (19:20).

Who can fight against it? The Lamb and His pure and undefiled martyr-army of holy ones (7:9, 14:1) not only have power (dynamos) to stand and fight against the dragon and the beast, but indeed they conquer and overcome by His blood and the word of their testimony (12:11).