THIS MIGHT SURPRISE YOU
The answer
Disagree. The verse invites the work: "let anyone with understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number for a person" (Revelation 13:18). It opens with the words "This calls for wisdom."
Why it’s interesting
Chapter 17 brings in the seven heads the same way: "This calls for a mind that has wisdom" (Revelation 17:9). Both times the book asks its hearers to think, and then hands them something to think with.
Scholarly consensus
Learn the Bible.
Not just the stories, but the history, authorship, and scholarship behind it.