What is a watchman?

So many self-proclaimed [false] prophets, "rapture watchers", and self-proclaimed [false] "pastors" claim to be "watchmen" because they are "watching for rapture signs".  This is NOT what a watchman is.  A watchman is someone who warns people to repent and turn back to obeying Yahweh by following Messiah Yeshua.  The job of the watchman is to WARN whether or not the people they are warning repents or not.

Ezekiel 3
17  Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me.
18  When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
19  Yet if thou warn the wicked, and he turn not from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul.
20  Again, When a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand.
21  Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul.

The watchman will be held accountable if he does not give the warning Yahweh has shown him to give. 

Many people are false watchman and tell people that Yahweh will not judge their sin or that they are somehow the exception to Yahweh's Torah and can disobey whichever law they dislike.  The righteous are disheartened by this false message because they know that these false teachers are seducing the wicked down the broad road to hell by reassuring the wicked that they are saved when they really are not.

Ezekiel 13
22  Because you have disheartened the righteous with your lies when I was not trying to cause them pain and have encouraged the wicked not to turn from their wicked ways and thus be saved,
23  therefore you will have no more futile visions, and you will produce no more divinations. I will rescue my people from your clutches, and you will know that I am Adonai.' "

True watchmen will warn even if they lose friends and family because of the warnings.  False watchmen will only warn if it fits their agenda and may even stop warning if the repercussions hurt their feelings or is not beneficial to them in some way.  The false watchmen want to be popular so they tell people what they want to hear to gain a following

2 Timothy 4:3  For the time is coming when people will not have patience for sound teaching, but will cater to their passions and gather around themselves teachers who say whatever their ears itch to hear.

This is the exact thing that happened in Ancient Israel

Isaiah 30
9  That this is a rebellious people, lying children, children that will not hear the law of the LORD:
10  Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits:

There are those who end up thanking the watchmen for warning them and will turn back to righteousness but, unfortunately, most will reject the warning and Yahweh will give the unrighteous over to a reprobate mind.