Revelation14:9

Translation

Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud

voice, “If anyone worships THE BEAST and its image

and receives

Go to footnote number

a mark

on his forehead or

on his hand

Paraphrase

Then another angel,

a third one, followed them,

saying with a loud voice,

“If anyone worships THE FEROCIOUS CREATURE or its image and takes initiative in accepting a sign of allegiance

related to the focus of his attention

and to his actions,

Footnotes

1

Here the Greek uses a simple verb form that places all the responsibility on the one receiving the mark. This need not be a contradiction of what we saw earlier, it may just be a simpler way of expressing the idea. Besides that, the context shows that these people will be judged for their decision, so the role of others is not the issue.