The end-is-near phenomemon is a symptom of a group of religious beliefs in which the main object of devotion - i.e., Christ Jesus - led his followers to genuinely believe his return to earth was imminent. Since his words were allegedly first uttered, every conceivably "creative" Christian has sought to (endlessly) explain what "Christ Jesus"did or did not mean by those words. Chuck Russell's column miles spent explaining "parousia" is but one example of the tortured explanatory lengths earnest believers went to in order to explain the absence of his return. It did not seem to occur to them to ask, If he has not yet returned, might that not suggest he's well and truly gone, if he were ever here to begin with? The horror of asking such a question has effectively led to its being banned from believers' circles. Let's play pretend, shall we?
Fact is, as in "His" own day, and down through the millenia, "loyal" but ultimately gullible believers have hung on to these words of his and seldom if ever let their remaining brains cells intervene and ask, "Is not this whole 'the-end-is-near-phenomenon plain bullsh*t?"
Courage to ask that question is worthier than the conviction that automatically rejects that question.
JWs are "merely" among the most vocal and literal-minded about these age-old promises. They didn't invent the end-is-near phenomenon - which is not to say they do not milk it for all it is worth.