In Ezekiel 33 the Lord gives a very clear picture of the watchman.  The Hebrew word for watchman used in this passage, tsaphah, means to lean forward, to peer into the distance, to observe.  The watchman was set in place to see the sword coming against the land and to blow the warning trumpet for all to hear.  In Ezekiel 33:7 the Lord said to Ezekiel:

"So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me."

This is rather an awesome responsibility to bring words of warning which to some may be the smell of death and to others the fragrance of life.

However, the call is clear and the time is now!

In the Old Testament, what the watchman is seeing he calls a "burden to be lifted up."  The Hebrew word burden means, the raising of hands in prayer, a lifting up or a rising of a flame, a fire signal (smoke signal), oracle, or prophetic speech.  The watchman is seen as one crying out what is coming and the intercessors as the ones who step into the gap before the Lord and begin to "make intercession," plead, and petition God on behalf of the land.  They seek reconciliation between God and His fallen creation.

By recording the dreams, revelations, and oracles the Lord is giving to the watchman, the intercessors can begin to labor with the words.  This will result in changing, redeeming, and confirming all things.  The watchman is to guard the house of God against deception, false prophets, and false teachers, to identify the enemy, and to guard the anointing of God in the house.  Jesus warned us against these things, but we need to be watching, peering, and identifying when the gate needs to be kept shut and when it should be opened - friend or foe.  Since God is a God of deliverance, the words that are brought, though they may be words of warning, will bring rescue-preservation from the impending harm that had been planned.

The Watchman will become yoked together with apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, and intercessors to bring about God's end-time purpose.  As the Body of Christ begins to function as God designed it to be, we will begin to see that which was fractured brought into wholeness.

The time is now for the strategic planning and timing of the Lord for the watchman to arise and bring forth what God is speaking.  God is longing for His church to stand as one.  This will be a time of travailing and a time of laboring, so the word of the Lord can bring forth the fruit of righteousness, justice, and restoration to the Church.

Apostles and Prophets arise and become the foundation!