Lacking any sort of scale for comparison, we would need to view it from the point of the person making the claims or predictions. For god, the word 'soon' is meaningless. He experiences time very differently than people do- for god, a day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as a day. If you're eternal, time has no bearing.
If you are an organization that uses anticipation as a tool for getting and keeping people interested and involved, then "shortly" or "soon" refer to a very brief timescale. How many people would have stayed JWs if the GB's spirit guide revealed that the current system of things -destined to be destroyed "shortly" or "soon"- would still be here in 50, 75, or 100+ years?