Rising like a revolting beast (9)

I believe the answer is:

rebellion

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'rising' is the definition.
(I know that rising can be written as rebellion)

'revolting beast' is the wordplay.
'revolting' becomes 'rebel' (I can't explain this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'beast' becomes 'lion' (type of animal).
'rebel'+'lion'='REBELLION'

'like a' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for rebellion that I've seen before include "Insurgency" , "Revolting" , "Boxers' movement" , "Uprising" , "Rising" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish News.

Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app