A system and method for verifying entry credentials and activating/deactivating an access control system is disclosed herein. Particularly, the system and method include an embedded local control device attached or communicative with an electronic gate or lock. The control device is communicative with a remote access control management system, which is structured to receive, track and manage access tokens that can be used to control access to a gated community or other secured location. For each access token, a lookup key is generated, which is used in conjunction with a bijective transformation process to thereby generate a unique access code. The unique access code can be used to enter the electronic gate or lock, provided that any associated access restrictions, such as date and time, are also validated.