Tafsir of Al Imran 3:24

ذلك بٲنهم قالوا لن تمسنا النار إﻻ أياما معدودات

This is because they say: "The Fire shall not touch us but for a number of days.'' meaning, what made them dare to challenge and defy the truth is their false claim that Allah will only punish them for seven days in the Fire, a day for every one thousand years in this life. We mentioned this subject in the Tafsir of Surah Al-Baqarah. Allah then said,

وغرهم في دينهم ما كانوا يفترون

And that which they used to invent regarding their religion has deceived them. meaning, what caused them to remain on their false creed is that they deceived themselves, believing that the Fire will only touch them for a few days for their errors. However, it is they who have invented this notion, and Allah did not grant them authority to support this claim. Allah said, while threatening and warning them,