Apocalypse

The four horsemen were not originally debuted in Beloved. They were first mentioned in the bible as "The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse". God opens one of his seven seals and four men riding different horse emerge from the seal. Each horseman represents a different trait of apocalypse. The first is conquest, the second is war, the third is famine, and the fourth is death. The four horsemen in Beloved are the sheriff, nephew, schoolteacher, and slave catcher. I believe that conquest is represented by the slave catcher because all he cares about is capturing slaves and returning them to their owners which is very similar to conquest. War is portrayed by the nephew because he had always been over beating slaves and creating a violent environment for the slaves. The school teacher represents famine since he is seen as a little threat, much like famine at the beginning (thinking you can grow crops still). But when Sethe is raped the schoolteacher just watches and writes it down in his journal, when famine truly kicks in and lets people starve. Lastly, the sheriff represents death because sheriff's represent the law at the time and that law was to return any slaves on the run. When a slave saw anyone from law-enforcement coming towards them, they knew their short-lived freedom was over.
The four horsemen in the Bible are meant to set a "divine apocalypse" on the world. I feel that the four horsemen in Beloved set their own apocalypse in their own way. When they came they stunned the smartest and wisest of the escaped slaves, Baby Suggs and Stamp Paid. The four horsemen ride in which is peculiar since no one was warned that four men were coming towards their camp. The four horsemen sort of appear from a "seal" just like in the Bible. The four horsemen apocalypse is Sethe surrounded by her bloody children and swinging her child around. While it's not a complete apocalypse, it's Sethe's very own apocalypse.