Something can be the first of a list, or the last in a collection. These words also come up frequently in tephilla. We don't expect Hebrew, since it was written by G-d, to have superfluous words. The two words must differ by connotation. He believed that every event has a cause, an event that preceded it that forced it to happen, and a telos, an following event that was the purpose for this one.
Teleology is in disfavor today.
For the Jew, however, there is no question. G-d created the universe, He did it for a purpose, and He insures that the purpose will be met. This is provides us an answer to our last question. Two Sequences Aristotle was convinced the universe was infinitely old, and that it would last forever. The cause of an event always happens before the event itself.