diff --git a/validate/validate.go b/validate/validate.go
index a03135605..7ba8c82b6 100644
--- a/validate/validate.go
+++ b/validate/validate.go
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import (
 	"net/http"
 	"reflect"
 	"sync"
+	"log"
 
 	"github.com/blang/semver/v4"
 	"github.com/kong/deck/utils"
@@ -159,10 +160,10 @@ func (v *Validator) Validate(formatVersion semver.Version) []error {
 
 	// Create a copy of entityMap with only the specififed resources to check online.
     filteredEntityMap := make(map[string]string)
-	if v.onlineEntitiesFilter != nil {
+	if len(v.onlineEntitiesFilter) > 0 {
 		for _, value := range v.onlineEntitiesFilter {
 			for key, entityName := range EntityMap {
-				if value == entityName {
+				if value == key {
 					filteredEntityMap[key] = entityName
 				}
 			}
@@ -171,20 +172,27 @@ func (v *Validator) Validate(formatVersion semver.Version) []error {
 		// If no filter is specified, use the original entityMap.
 		filteredEntityMap = EntityMap
 	}
-	
 
 	// Validate each entity using the filtered entityMap
-    for fieldName, entityName := range filteredEntityMap {
-        // Use reflection to get the value of the field from v.state
-        fieldValue := reflect.ValueOf(v.state).FieldByName(fieldName)
-        if fieldValue.IsValid() && fieldValue.CanInterface() {
-            if err := v.entities(fieldValue.Interface(), entityName); err != nil {
-                allErr = append(allErr, err...)
-            }
-        } else {
-            allErr = append(allErr, fmt.Errorf("invalid field '%s' in state", fieldName))
-        }
-    }
+	for fieldName, entityName := range filteredEntityMap {
+		// Log the fieldName and entityName
+		log.Printf("Validating field: %s, entity: %s", fieldName, entityName)
+
+		// Use reflection to get the value of the field from v.state
+		valueOfState := reflect.ValueOf(v.state)
+		if valueOfState.Kind() == reflect.Ptr {
+			valueOfState = valueOfState.Elem() // Dereference if it's a pointer
+		}
+
+		fieldValue := valueOfState.FieldByName(fieldName)
+		if fieldValue.IsValid() && fieldValue.CanInterface() {
+			if err := v.entities(fieldValue.Interface(), entityName); err != nil {
+				allErr = append(allErr, err...)
+			}
+		} else {
+			allErr = append(allErr, fmt.Errorf("invalid field '%s' in state", fieldName))
+		}
+	}
 
 	// validate routes format with Kong 3.x
 	parsed30, err := semver.ParseTolerant(utils.FormatVersion30)