Revelation 6 12-17 anticipates a passage near the end of Rev, when God comes in judgement:
Revelation 20:11 Then I saw a great white throne and the One seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from His presence, and no place was found for them.
The “not being found” of geographical features, is presumably a sign that the passages that say they are not found, are to be understood as indicating that God has come as Judge.
The similarity to the passage in Josephus, may conceivably be evidence that Rev shows knowledge of Josephus’ Jewish War. This is consistent with a Domitianic date for Rev, in whole or part.
IMHO, Rev 6 12-17 is Saint John’s adaptation, for his own purposes in writing this book, of passages in Isaiah 2 & Hosea 10. The prophecy is in both books a declaration of woe & judgement, against the inhabitants of, respectively, Israel & Judah.
“…7Samaria will be carried off with her king like a twig on the surface of the water. 8
The high placesof Avenwill be destroyed—it is the sinof Israel;thornsand thistleswill overgrowtheir altars.Then they will sayto the mountains,“Cover us!”and to the hills,“Fallon us!”9Since the days of Gibeah you have sinned, O Israel, and there you have remained. Did not the battle in Gibeah overtake the sons of iniquity?…”
Hosea 10:8 The high places of Aven will be destroyed--it is the sin of Israel; thorns and thistles will overgrow their altars. Then they will say to the mountains, "Cover us!" and to the hills, "Fall on us!"
Luke 23.30 also echoes Isa. 2 // Hosea 10.8.
The motif of hiding from God the Judge is found in Gen. 3.8. The awe-full-ness, for human beings, of encountering God, is found throughout much of the Bible, as in Isaiah 6, Ezekiel 1, and Rev 1.12-20, not forgetting Josh 5 & Judg 13.
The “destructiveness” of God’s Holiness is hinted at in Exodus 33:
“So the LORD said to Moses, “I will do this very thing you have asked, for you have found favor in My sight, and I know you by name.”
18Then Moses said, “Please show me Your glory.”
19“I will cause all My goodness to pass before you,” the LORD replied, “and I will proclaim My name—the LORD—in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.”
20But He added, “You cannot see My face, for no one can see Me and live.”
21The LORD continued, “There is a place near Me where you are to stand upon a rock,
22and when My glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft of the rock and cover you with My hand until I have passed by.
23Then I will take My hand away, and you will see My back; but My face must not be seen.””.
- & 34:
“
28So Moses was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments.
29And when Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was unaware that his face had become radiant from speaking with the LORD.
30Aaron and all the Israelites looked at Moses, and behold, his face was radiant. And they were afraid to approach him....”.
Rev 6 12-17 is not about anything made by human science, but about the effects upon sinful men of “the terror of the LORD”, as in Isaiah 2:
“
10Go into the rocks
and hide in the dust
from the terror of the LORD
and the splendor of His majesty.
11The proud look of man will be humbled,
and the loftiness of men brought low;
the LORD alone will be exalted in that day....
17So the pride of man will be brought low,
and the loftiness of men will be humbled;
the LORD alone will be exalted in that day,
18and the idols will vanish completely.
19Men will flee to caves in the rocks
and holes in the ground,
away from the terror of the LORD
and from the splendor of His majesty,
when He rises to shake the earth....”
A mention of “shaking the Earth” occurs in Haggai:
“
6For this is what the LORD of Hosts says:
“Once more, in a little while,
I will shake the heavens and the earth,
the sea and the dry land.
7I will shake all the nations,
and they will come with all their treasures,
and I will fill this house with glory,
says the LORD of Hosts.
8The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,
declares the LORD of Hosts.
9The latter glory of this house
will be greater than the former,
says the LORD of Hosts.
And in this place I will provide peace,
declares the LORD of Hosts.””.
Haggai 2 BSB